Blood and Chocolate
by Lady Lemon Drop
Summary: We’ve figured out what’s wrong with you, Harry." Sometimes the pain was so bad that I couldn’t stay conscious to endure it. "It’s a recessive gene" I felt them pin me down, trying to administer sedatives. "You’re a Vampire, Harry." - June, 1996
1. Faint

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the plot =]_

_A/N: I was going to wait and post this after I had completed Stonewall High (which will be finished with in the next month or so... give or take a week... or two), but I'm so unbelievably proud of this that I just had to give it a shot. That and I have a few chapters pre-written and I shouldn't have to worry about writing more of this until after Stonewalls done with..._

_Anyways! Drop me a word or two if you can, feed back is much apreciated! And of course, thanks to my Beta GabsGen, who is absolutely fantastic! Enjoy - Jessica_

**_Things you should know:_**

_Timeline: Mid-June, 1996_

_POV: The Prologue, is in a woman's point of view, I'm sure you can figure out whose, while the first chapter is in Harry's point of view. I'll be switching between the two a lot as the story goes on._

_Italics = Memories_

_

* * *

_

Quote: I've got a really bad disease, it's got me begging on my hands and knees... So, take me to emergency, 'Cause something seems to be missing... Somebody take the pain away, It's like an ulcer bleeding in my brain... So send me to the pharmacy so I can lose my memory. I'm elated, medicated.

_Lord knows I tried to find a way... to run away_

_**Restless Heart Syndrome - Green Day**_

**_

* * *

_**

Blood and Chocolate

Part One: Red Sky

_Prologue: Wince, Gasp, Moan_

* * *

If there was one thing that I ever thought I would do with my life, it certainly wasn't this. I never, not for a moment, ever thought that my life would end up in the state it was in. Even after everything, I thought maybe one day I would probably get to have my own life, a quiet one, with a man who loves me, children of my own. My own little family away from that mad house I grew up in. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers, and my mum, even as mental as she seems… I just need my life back.

Obviously that's never going to happen. Not now. Not ever. But I have _him_ now, and that's all I need, even if it is just us, me and him… him and I, for all eternity. I love him, and he's_in love_ with me, and that's all the reassurance that I need to go through with this. My friends think I'm crazy, and my brothers are sure to hate him for what he's about to do, for a while, at the least.

But it'll get better, and they'll grow to understand that I _need _him. I need him more than even he knows. Even standing here now, naked as the day I was born, pinned to the wall by the love of my life, I don't regret my decision. He needs this as much as I do.

It started with soft kisses, fluttering across my jaw, growing in intensity as they followed an invisible line to the juncture of my neck and my shoulder. And I can feel his razor sharp teeth sinking in through my skin, first there's a twinge of pain, and I can't help the wince, that gasp of surprise at the unique feeling. But soon I'm there with him, and I've never felt more connected to someone in my life, it felt like a lightning bolt coursing through my veins.

Ecstasy.

I throw my head back and moan, but his hands are there, threading through my hair, holding my head in place. My legs turn to jelly, and I'm surprised I'm still standing. He's there again, his free arm sliding around my waist, holding my body flush against his. That's when I know I would never want to be anywhere else, not ever. And it doesn't matter that I know I'm never going to get a quiet life, off away from the madness that is my life now. Because me and him, we'll go on forever, just the two of us.

_What we have is so much better. _

* * *

Chapter One: Faint

***Harry's POV***

* * *

I was in agony. There were no other words to describe it, just pure, unadulterated pain, like a thousand knives stabbing me, all over, every limb, every tiny little_ particle_ was on fire, screaming at me to make it stop. But I couldn't. And this was far from over.

Pretty much limping out of the bathroom, I lowered myself onto the middle of the double bed. I groaned as my aching back sank into the mattress. Sirius had been very particular about making sure I wouldn't be able to feel the springs – at all.

I closed my eyes, taking deep soothing breaths, and try to picture myself somewhere else, somewhere - anywhere, away from the mess I was in right now…

_I'd been feeling it all day. _

_A horrible churning feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. I felt like I could throw up at any moment, my back ached beyond belief, my legs felt like __lead__, and I could barely keep my eyes open through breakfast, even through Hermione's insistent 'Eat something, Harry. You'll need the energy to get through today's exams!' I had a horrible lump in my throat, like my tonsils were pushing together, which made it hard to swallow, never mind keep food down. _

_I'd stick to pumpkin juice today… My hands had __shaken__as I picked up the jug of juice, so much so that I had to use both hands to pour the stuff into my goblet. Ron thought I should pull a sicky and get out of the tests; apparently I 'Sure as hell look ill enough'. Maybe everything would have ended out better if I had._

_I groaned quietly, letting my head drop into the wall in front of me, I felt so hot, and yet I could feel a cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. It had been bad enough falling asleep in the middle of the History of Magic exam, never mind the fact that I'd dragged five of my best friends from Scotland to London, bluffed our way into the Ministry of Magic, and broken into the Department of Mysteries, but now finding out that it had all been for nothing? _

_Sirius wasn't here. Never had been by the looks of things. But he wasn't at Grimmauld Place either, so where the _hell_ was he? The cool stone wall soothed my burning forehead only briefly, calming me down just slightly before the next onslaught of pain hit me, and once again I really_, really_ just wanted to go curl up in bed and _never_ re-emerge. _

"_Harry?" Ron called. _

_I managed to lift my head away from the wall. "What?" To be honest I couldn't care less what my best friend had to say, I didn't really feel like opening my mouth at all right now. _

"_Have you seen this?" _

_"What?" I dragged my feet over to where they were all gathered further down the aisle. "What is it?"_

"_It's got your name on." He said quietly, referring to one of the dusty spheres on the shelves in front of him. He pointed one out in particular and I had to crane my neck to read the label._

'_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D_

_Dark Lord_

_And (?) Harry Potter'_

_Ron slowly turned on the spot, taking in all the other spheres. "What the hell is this place? Why's your name down here?"_

_But I wasn't listening. Wanting a closer look, hoping that the trip down here maybe hadn't been a complete farce, I reached out for the small sphere. _

"_Harry I don't think you should touch it." Said Hermione sharply, her hand on my shoulder. _

_I took it regardless, wiping away the dust that had accumulated over the years. There was a dull glow emanating from it that only got brighter as more of it was revealed under the thick layer of dirt. It was exceedingly warm, but it seemed completely normal, not at all dangerous. I threw it in the air and caught it, bringing it up closer to get a better look at the contents. _

"_Careful, Harry." reprimanded Hermione, looking over my shoulder at the object in my hand. The others had gathered around soon after, eager to know what it was. _

_Suddenly, out of nowhere, a drawling voice spoke. "Very good, Potter. Now turn around slowly, and give that to me."_

_There were twelve of them, completely surrounding us, wand tips shining brightly, pointing directly at our hearts. I couldn't pinpoint any particular face, as they were all covered by hoods, and masks. Ginny gave a gasp of horror behind me, and I felt Hermione's fingers twist around the material of my robes at my right elbow. _

"_To me, Potter." Repeated Lucius Malfoy as he held out a hand, palm up, awaiting its prize. _

_Only I couldn't seem to concentrate on his face. My eyes were dropping under the bright lights contrasting in the darkness and it was all I could do to keep breathing. A stabbing pain was emanating from my jaw, travelling down my neck, right through to my stomach. That undeniable need to throw up had never been stronger. _

_I felt my grip on the sphere slackening as my legs weakened, and my eyesight blurred. I let out a soft moan, almost doubling over in pain, Hermione's hand moving to grip my entire elbow tightly as a couple of Death Eaters laughed; obviously assuming that Malfoy had done something to me. _

_I was barely conscious as there was a loud chorus of thuds while numerous Death Eaters hit the ground, stunned. All but two. I saw a dark figure come __into__view. He stood in front of me, protecting me as my knees hit the floor and the sphere slipped out of my grip. I heard it smash to the floor, and a cry of despair as it dropped. My eyes slid shut, as I heard a crack; the man in front of him had punched Malfoy. There was another thud as he hit the floor. _

_I felt a strong set of arms wrap around my shoulders, definitely not Hermione's. And someone is speaking close to my ear. "Bella, do me a favour and take your Death Eater friends and leave?" _

_There was a loud crack, and then whispered words of reassurance in my ear as everything went black._

My eyes shot open as someone knocked loudly on the door. I groaned and covered my eyes with my hands, blocking the light spilling through the open doors as Sirius entered and closed it behind him.

"I'd have let you in, but I can't move."

Sirius exhaled slowly, walking in with a tray filled with breakfast foods. "Figured you might want some food." He placed it down on the bed by my hips and sat cross legged at my feet. "How are you feeling?"

I groaned again. "How do you think?" I said thickly, my voice hoarse.

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Come on, you need to eat."

I really didn't think I could stomach anything right now, but Sirius was going spare trying to help make me more comfortable, even with the uproar from his upcoming trial, and all the Healers flying in and out of the house to make sure my situation wasn't deteriorating. The least I could do was humour him.

I clenched my teeth and forced myself into an upright position, piling my pillows up behind my head and back. Spreading my legs out across the bed, I move the tray to rest carefully in between them. Starting off small, I poured myself a glass of orange juice, forcing myself to swallow it.

Sirius seemed to relax. "I'd eat with you, but I had Remus lace everything with strong pain relieving potions. They'll make you a bit drowsy, but it's either that or you'd pretty much be screaming by dinner." He explained.

I nodded, taking another large gulp of orange juice as I felt the potion beginning to kick in. Sirius watched me eat for a few minutes before he began to talk about one thing or another, the conversation slowly fading toward his trial on the 12th of July.

"You scared yet then?" I asked, sliding down against the pillows, scratching the back of my head. I was starting to feel less lucid.

"Not really… on the off chance that I don't walk free, I can just break out again – they never did figure out how I did it the first time…" he smirked, watching me for a moment before he caught me scratching the right side of my neck.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled it away from my neck. "Don't! You'll make it worse."

I pulled a face. "It won't make it worse, Sirius. It'll just hurt more."

"Exactly! So don't do it!" He said, scowling. I sighed and slid back down against the pillows a bit, yawning widely. His face softened. "You get some more sleep. I'll be up to check on you in a bit." He ran his fingers through my hair once, before picking up the tray and leaving the room, switching off the lamps as he went.

I closed my eyes, thinking back to when I'd woken up, and the news that had been brought with it.

_I next awoke lying on something soft, my skin was still burning to the touch, and yet I felt so damned cold. In the time it took to realize I was in a bed, I had already yanked the duvet up over my head, knocking the hand in my hair out of the way as I burrowed under the thick layers of blankets. Then __the__ hand moved down to be a calming weight on my lower back, rubbing in soft circles. _

_I let my eyes drop closed again, my head pounding, and my throat on fire. I really needed a drink…_

_After hearing the door open, and close quietly, I shifted to attempt to hear them better, obviously I probably wouldn't see them, even if my head had been above the blankets, it had been alarmingly dark for that brief moment before I had wrapped myself in a cocoon. _

"_How is he?" came Lupin__'__s voice from across the room. _

_The bed weighed down as he sat near my feet. There was a short barking laugh. "I wouldn't know, he was conscious for five seconds before he hid under this lot. "_

_The hand moved up my back, tugging at the fleece that I held firmly behind my head until my hair was visible. "Harry?"_

_I opened one eye, looking up at the blurry figure in front of me through the darkness. "Sirius?" it hurt to talk._

_The hand was back again, running through my hair. "Umm?"_

"_You're okay…" I felt myself relax slightly, rolling onto my back. Sirius leaned over and put the lamp on the bedside table on dim as Remus handed me a glass of water, which I gladly took, sitting up so I could drink it without spilling it down my front. _

"_I'm fine, Harry – I'm more worried about you." He spoke softly, handing me my glasses. _

_I could see him properly now, sitting in a chair next to me, looking completely knackered. "Where am I?" I croaked, clearing my throat, though that only sent a jolt of pain down my throat. I winced, rubbing the back of my neck. _

_Sirius shared a look with Remus. "Grimmauld place. I wanted you on the same floor as me, but the only other room up here is Regg__'__s, so I put you in my room." he indicated to the faded posters on the walls. _

"_But then where did you sleep?"_

"_I didn't, really." He replied sheepishly. "Been up all night making sure you were okay…"_

_Remus moved to sit at the end of the bed, crossing his legs, facing toward me. "Your friends are back at Hogwarts safely… Severus got to us in time – we were on standby at the Ministry, just in case you somehow found a way around him. Evidently you did, as he didn't see you return from the forest. We found you down in the DOM, in the Hall of Prophecies. Sirius, Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and I were with you, we managed to stun the Death Eaters behind you, but Sirius –" I caught the grin on my godfathers face. _

"_Knocked Lucius Malfoy out, and managed to get Bella to take the rest of them and leave. They're cousins you see, __sometimes__they will do things for each other, as long as no one else is watching… though she took them straight up to the Atrium, Dumbledore was up there waiting for us to return, and managed to gather most of them up as she was reviving them. Apparently Voldemort got wind of it, because by the time we got up there, most of the Death Eaters were gone, the rest were tied up, Aurors were everywhere, The Minister for Magic was standing there in his pyjamas, and Voldemort grabbed Bella and apparated out. We took you straight here, and sent the students back to school for the last 3 weeks of the term…"_

_Sirius was still grinning. "Now that the world knows that Voldemort is alive, the Minister__'__s on his way to being sacked, and Dumbledore's pushing for a fair trial – he's sure he can get me off… but he also had some of the best Healers in Britain here yesterday to find out what is wrong with you. Hermione and Ron described how you'd been acting that day, backed up of course by the fact that you fell asleep in an exam and collapsed at the Ministry. You're lucky we were there, you would have died otherwise, once Voldemort got wind of the Prophecy being broken, he'd have been straight down there to… well we don't really want to think about it…" he trailed off, running his fingers through his hair._

_I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of it all. "Wait… I don't understand – how long have I been out?"_

"_Three days." Replied Remus promptly. "The Healers have based themselves in St Mungo__'__s, as it's closest to us, and are currently trying their best to figure out what's wrong with you…. And Sirius' trial is scheduled for a month from now… as long as he can stay out of sight for that long, he can avoid being thrown in a holding cell until they need him."_

"_But... I'm fine! I probably just have the flu or something... I don't need specialist doctors to figure that out." They both shared another look. "What?" I demanded, starting to get annoyed. _

_Sirius sighed, pulling an old mirror out of his back pocket, he handed it to me. "Look at yourself."_

_So I did. I looked __ill__, sure, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. I was exceedingly pale, and I had dark rings under my eyes, like __I__ hadn't been sleeping, which admittedly, I hadn't. "Sirius, I don't-" He put his hand on my cheek and gently tipped my head to the side, exposing my neck to the mirror. What I saw almost made me drop it in shock. "What the hell is that?" I asked, alarmed, tracing the blood red line, raised, almost vein like, travelling along my jaw line, and down my neck. I pulled back my shirt, finding that it went down further still. The skin around the raised line was incredibly sensitive, and red raw, I couldn't touch it anymore without it stinging. _

_Remus heaved a sigh. "It goes right down to where your heart is__. We__ have no idea what it is, or how it got there, it just sort of started to develop sometime early yesterday morning. Poppy was here treating you for what she'd thought was the flu, as well, but then she saw that and was completely baffled. We __flooed__Dumbledore and he called in specialists after he'd looked you over and couldn't figure it out either."_

_I dropped the mirror to the bed, looking slightly disgusted. So what – was something under my skin? Was I dying, mutating, contracting some ridiculously rare, unheard of wizarding illness? "What?!" I said aloud. "What the hell is it?"_

_Sirius crawled onto the bed, next to me, his fingers above the line, tracing it down as far as was visible above my shirt without actually touching me. Then he tilted my head toward him, and touched a spot at the juncture between my neck and my shoulder. I hissed in pain as the light pressure brought agony and __shoved__ Sirius' hand away._

_The animagus sighed. "It's repeating the cycle on the other side- touch that spot right there, and there's a little lump, it's starting to go a bit pink…" he trailed off, looking worried. _

_I clenched my teeth together, suddenly majorly annoyed that this was even happening to me. I sank back down into the mattress, pulling the blankets up over my head in an attempt to obtain extra heat. I felt so bloody cold. _

_There was a small bout of silence as I hid from my guardians before the bed springs groaned as Remus stood. "I'm going to floo 'Mungo__'__s – I'll tell Payne it's starting to duplicate on the other side of his neck." He put his hand on my ankle, the closest thing he could reach without falling over. "Get some rest Harry – either me or Sirius will be here when you wake up."_

_I nodded, realising long after Remus had left that he couldn't actually see the gesture. Sirius' hand was back, a slow soothing movement on __my__ back through the blankets. There was another shift in the bed springs as Sirius moved to lie beside me __on top__ of the blankets. "Do you want me to leave you in peace?" he asked, turning off the lamps again._

"_No…" I whispered truthfully as Sirius summoned more blankets, throwing them over the both of us as he curled up behind me. To be honest I'd much prefer he was there in case anything happened. I felt safer having him there for if anything went wrong. _

_But the company was nice too._

Healer Payne… he was a lot nicer than I'd remembered doctors to be as a kid. Though that could be because he was just so glad to work with 'The Harry Potter'. Sirius liked him, and so did Moony, and that was all that mattered to me. He, being the one leading the team of Healers Dumbledore had set up, was the person I saw most.

He'd first asked me so many questions about how I felt physically, and then done a number of tests, taken blood samples – even from the raised skin around my neck, which had been particularly painful. Payne had been incredibly sensitive about the whole subject, especially when he told me they'd figured out what was wrong with me.

It had been Healer Susan Brand who'd made the connection between the fluid – yes fluid, not blood, that had been obtained from the 'vein' running down from my neck, to the health of my many greats grandfather, who lived in the eighteen hundreds after they thought it prudent to check up on my family history. There was a recessive gene that was procured from him, made dormant by his muggle wife's blood, mixed with his own when they had had children. Muggle blood and wizarding blood connecting can cause many things to be put to one side, the magic, for one, or maybe something as simple as an eye colour. It could remain dormant in your genes for centuries then just pop up out of the blue in one of the decedents.

I suppose that was an easy way of putting what happened to me. The recessive gene had been slightly more lethal than something as simple as an eye colour. The only reason it had even popped up in the first place was because for the first time since that grandfather, a Potter had married into muggle blood – Lily Evans.

Then it was triggered, that's what got me to where I am now.

I tried to suppress it, I really did. But I could feel it bubbling up in my stomach once more, Healer James Payne's voice ringing in my ears.

_We've figured out what's wrong with you, Harry._

I clenched my teeth again, falling back against the bedroom wall. I tried to clear my head – think of anything else, anything other than the pain I was reduced to. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly, before glancing out across the room.

_It's a recessive gene; it was bound to pop up in your line eventually, in the correct environment._

It was set directly next door to Sirius'. Sirius and Remus had built me (using magic) my own personal space, complete with an en suite bathroom. Sirius had wanted me near, but hadn't wanted to disturb his little brothers' room.

_Your many greats grandfather was turned at a very young age – but the gene remained dormant in the wake of his muggle wife, essentially protecting their children from the curse._

I couldn't hold it in any longer – I screamed, loud and hard, falling to my knees.

_That was until muggle blood ran into your line once more, in the form of your mother._

Healers Payne, Brand, Ryder, and Mayer rushed up the stairs and into my room, closing the door and silencing the room. The Weasley's were coming to stay for the summer today. School had finished two days ago and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had wanted to be closer to Head Quarters. Sirius had offered up their home to them long before he'd known what was wrong with me.

I'm sure he'd have reconsidered had he known. I fell to the floor.

_We don't yet know why you haven't gone through 'the change' before now…_

I felt them pin me down, trying to administer sedatives. They would knock me out so I couldn't feel the strain of my body slowly changing into something much more terrifying. Sometimes the pain was so bad that I couldn't stay conscious to endure it.

_You're a Vampire, Harry._

Payne pushed my head violently to the side, into the wooden floor, the needle pushing past my skin and into my neck. Everything began to fade away. Opening my eyes I saw the blurry image of the 24 year old Healer's terrified face. He dropped the needle to the ground, breathing heavily, nodding to the other Healers to let me go, signaling that the sedative was working.

"_I am so sorry…"_


	2. Hidden

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot!_

_A/N: You're getting this a day early because 1- I'm awesome 2- You're reviews were fantastic and 3- …I'm going to Manchester first thing tomorrow for a 2 day shopping trip and my auntie doesn't have wifi or broadband set up. She has Dial up but it's really slow and I can't be bothered trying to fiddle with it._

_I should also warn you that this chapter is no where near as good as the last (in my opinion, anyway, my Beta says it's great)… I'm just slowly building up to the climax at Chapter Nine, which is the final chapter of the first part of this story. The second part's much longer. _

…_Oh! And one last thing: __**I have a Yahoo Group for my Fanfictions - I'm currently creating a banner (or five) which will be posted there later tonight, and a couple of previews for later chapters. The link is on my profile, and once you're a member you can post things, and reply to my posts… add things… dunno - just check it out!**_

_

* * *

_

Quote:

I am a world before I am a man  
I was a creature before I could stand  
I will remember before I forget  
BEFORE I FORGET THAT! 

I'm ripped across the ditch, and settled in the dirt and I'm  
I wear you like a stitch, yet I'm the one who's hurt  
Pay attention to your twisted little indiscretions  
I've got no right to win, I'm just caught up all the battles

**Before I Forget by Slipknot**_**… I dunno. I'm a bit of a metal head xD But if you read the lyrics close enough it fits Harry in this story perfectly!**_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_**Chapter Two: Hidden**_

_*Ginny__'__s POV*_

_

* * *

_

Previously:

_We don't yet know why you haven't gone through 'the change' before now…_

_I felt them pin me down, trying to administer sedatives. They would knock me out so I couldn't feel the strain of my body slowly changing into something much more terrifying. Sometimes the pain was so bad that I couldn't stay conscious to endure it._

_You're a Vampire, Harry._

_Payne pushed my head violently to the side, into the wooden floor, the needle pushing past my skin and into my neck. Everything began to fade away. Opening my eyes I saw the blurry image of the 24 year old Healer__'__s terrified face. He dropped the needle to the ground, breathing heavily, nodding to the other Healers to let me go, __signaling__ that the sedative was working._

"_I'm so sorry…"_

_

* * *

_

I sighed, piling out of the car behind Ron and Fred. I still didn't quite get the point to all of this moving about. And in the cover of night? Something was up. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it's definitely a_ bad_ something. We were staying at Sirius bleeding Black's house again for Merlin's sake!

I looked up at the starry sky and shook the scarlet hair out of my eyes, scanning the stars above me through the dim glow of the street lights. Why was it that everything always seemed that much more amazing at night?

I dropped my head forward, walking around to the back of the car that had been sent by Remus in Sirius' name, and pulled my trunk out of the boot. I had to groan at the extra weight… Merlin that thing is heavy. I blew my side fringe out of my eyes as it fell across my face once again, dropping it to the floor.

Lord Voldemort was back, that much I was certain of. It felt so much realer now than it had before, when it was Harry's word against everyone else's. Sure, I believed him, but actually seeing the bastard standing there in the atrium really brought it home… it did for everyone. I know that we're in danger, for being so close to Harry, but it didn't bother me. I'd gladly die for Harry, if that's what it took to keep him safe – he deserved so much better than the damned Dursleys as relatives.

Fred came up next to me and picked up my trunk, I was about to protest when I saw him draw his wand and wink, both his and mine were hovering millimetres below his fingertips so it looked like he was carrying them. He glanced back at mum, who was too preoccupied with her own, and we shared almost identical grins as we followed dad up to the front of a previously non-existent house.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place. I hated to admit it, but god had I missed this place…

The house seemed a lot bigger on the inside, mostly due to the sheer amount of remodeling that had occurred since I'd last been here. The wallpaper had been ripped off, leaving the walls stained with bits of ripped up paper, waiting to be painted, strips of different coloured paint ranging from a pale yellow to a deep purple lined up by the kitchen door.

All of the old portraits, every little piece of evidence that the Blacks ever lived here was gone. I heard my family begin to drop their trunks behind me, and ahead of me as I ran my fingers along the multi-textured walls in the hallway. Arriving at the bottom of the staircase, I saw piles of pictures, muggle and magical, by the staircase boxes marked 'Hogwarts', 'Godric's H', 'Potter Est.', 'B. Harry', and 'Dorcas'.

There were more lining the kitchen doors, spilling into the study at the end of the hall, and upon looking up the first five steps to the landing I saw 15 more, all piled up half against the Portrait of Mrs. Black and half against the wall in the corner. These were mostly marked 'James', 'Lily', 'Marlene' and 'Mary'. I looked up the staircase as it turned to the right and went up along the wall. The elves heads that used to line the staircase were gone; these walls too, where stripped of the wallpaper.

Mum clapped her hands behind me. "Alright you lot – ground rules…" she stopped talking abruptly as a loud scream echoed down from upstairs.

The sound of curtains ripping across the rail as a female shriek joined the males from upstairs.

"FREAKS! WEREWOLVES, HALF-BLOOD CRETINS! HOW DARE YOU BESMIRCH THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK!"

Ron's eyes widened. "What the bloody hell was that?"

I tilted my head, taking a step to the right so I could see up the stairs, only to be pushed to the side as a man with shoulder length black hair ran up the stairs to the portrait, pulling the curtains shut. "Give it up! The moment I figure out how, you're gone!" he growled. His voice was incredibly proper, well spoken, and he was dressed in dark jeans and a black button up shirt. I smiled. He looked a lot better than he had last I'd seen him.

He'd filled out, finally put on enough weight to look healthy, and had managed to gain more in muscle as well.

The woman lowered her voice. "You'll regret ever leaving us behind, Sirius Orion – one day, you'll realize, that you wouldn't have gone through so much pain if you had just stuck. To. Your. _Roots_!" He slammed the curtains shut in her smirking face.

The smile slipped off of my face as I saw him slump forward against the curtains, his fingers curled around the rails. The screaming upstairs came to a sudden stop. Remus was running down the stairs two at a time one floor up, he rounded the banister in the landing and began down the last flight of stairs. "Sirius! Sirius, they've –" He stopped short as he looked up as he reached the midpoint to the stairs. His eyes widened considerably when he saw us all standing in the hallway looking slightly shell-shocked.

He tore his eyes away, looking down at Sirius while he slowed on his path down the staircase. "Sirius, mate…" He put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, leaning forward to whisper something in his best friends' ear.

Sirius nodded slowly, stepping back from the mirror. "You get back to him… I'll sort this lot out." Remus nodded, and thumped him on the back lightly before he ran back up the stairs.

Sirius turned to us all and flashed us a charming smile, the first one I'd ever seen grace his lips. He didn't look as gaunt as he had previously; his cheeks had plumped up, revealing surprisingly high cheekbones. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Nice to see you all again."

Mum just stared, wide-eyed.

"Okay, I repeat." Said Ron, voice cracking as he pointed up at the ceiling. "What the bloody hell was that?!"

Sirius laughed nervously. "That? Just one of the family portraits. Remus and I have been trying to get rid of him for weeks, finally figured out how – this one however." He thumped the portrait of his mother through the curtains. "Still needs some work."

Fred and George collectively snorted with laughter. "Merlin Ronniekins, you pissed yourself over nothing," said George while simultaneously Fred ruffled his little brothers' hair.

"Boys!" scolded Mum, her hands on her hips, looking stern.

Dad held his hand out to Sirius. "Good to see you, Sirius."

He shook his hand. "You too, Arthur." He gave a genuine smile, seeming to relax slightly; he leaned back against the banister. "As you can see, we're still working on the house… took us forever to work through the utter rubbish Mother accumulated over the years… You're all going to be staying in different rooms to last time. Moony and I went through and did up a few bedrooms for you!" he turned, beckoning us upstairs.

Mum walked past the lot of us, and toward the kitchen. "I'll start on breakfast shall I? I dare say you and Remus haven't had a proper meal in a while." She rolled up her sleeves.

Sirius snorted. "Out of the three of us, only one can really cook… not that I'd make him anyway…"

"Three of you?" inquired dad. "I thought it was just the two of you."

Sirius hesitated. "Well… Tonks has been spending a lot of her nights here… she's my cousin, you see… it's near the full moon so I'd never make Remus go anywhere near the kitchen in his state."

Molly smiled and nodded. "Well – fear no more, I'm here now!" she disappeared into the kitchen, and I heard her gasp in delight when she saw the changes.

Sirius sniggered, continuing up the stairs. I couldn't help but think he was lying about Tonks living here. Well, for all I know, she could be. But Remus had been fine to leg it up and down the stairs, and the full moon wasn't for a week…

"I only ask of you not to touch any of the boxes about the house – we're still ordering in new furniture, and bringing in all of our friends old things… Oh, and don't go near the top floor!" he gave them a severe look over his shoulder, taking us up to the third floor.

Fred laughed. "Why? Are you hiding something up there you don't want us to see?"

Sirius laughed back. "No, I just don't want any of you wandering around up there. It's just my room, and my brothers' old room… I don't want his room touched."

The twins seemed to accept this as an appropriate answer, but I sure as hell didn't – I'd been up there before, and yes, there were only two rooms, but Sirius had never considered them off limits before now.

He pointed to a room across the hall. "Ron, you're in there, Arthur, you and Molly are in that one, and the twins have rooms side by side over there. Of course you can share a room if you want; I just figured you might want your own space." The twins grinned.

"We won't be spending much time here anyway." said Fred.

"We've got a business to run, you know –"continued George.

"And we only agreed to come here to stay rather than the flat above the shop because of how close this is to Diagon Ally."

"And mum was beside herself." finished George.

Sirius grinned. "You know I'd like to see the designs for some of the things in this joke shop of yours – see if it's anything compared to the Marauders."

Fred stopped attempting to shove his trunk through the bedroom door. "You knew the Marauders?"

He nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

Before they could ask anything else, He nodded to me to follow him up the next flight of stairs. "You'll be up here on your own until Hermione gets here, and of course your other brothers… and Miss Delacour. I agreed that they could use this as a base for getting ready for the wedding."

I grimaced. "Phlegm is up here? Ugh."

He laughed loudly. "Phlegm?"

I flushed. "Don't tell Bill I call her that. We don't exactly see eye to eye, me and her."

He nodded. "I know the feeling. I'm just going to be up here, I'm up above you, if you ever need anything."

I raised my eyebrows. "I thought no one was allowed up there?"

He paused on his way up the steps. "Yeah, well, don't tell your brothers, but you're my favourite… and I trust you not to go wandering into places you know you shouldn't be." He winked, and then continued up the stairs.

I blinked, shook my head, and hauled myself into the room he'd indicated to. Pushing open the hardwood door with one hand, I both kicked and shoved the trunk in with the other. I managed to close the door behind me before I bent forward and took a deep breath, flicking my hair back over my shoulder to get a better look at the room. "Oh, wow..."

It wasn't too big, but it wasn't exactly small either. The walls were painted a deep purple, not a flimsy lilac or pinky colour, proper bright purple. I sighed with relief. They knew me well. I grinned, pushing back the identically shaded curtains, with a black hue rising up from the bottom, to look out of the large south facing window. There was a wispy curtain underneath the thicker ones, letting through the light of the sun rising over the city scape to the right. I took a deep breath, relaxing against the wall as I pushed it back and looked out across what I could see of the city from here.

The door opened behind me as Ron wandered in. "Nice… My room's like this… only orange…"

I grinned, turning to face him as he picked up my trunk from the wooden floor and placed it on my bed for me. My _double_ bed with matching duvet covers that went from bright purple at the top down to a jet back, and too many pillows to count at the top of my bed with the same colours. You know this place really isn't that bad now that it's not so dark… "Thanks Ron."

"No problem… though you should think about packing lighter next time…"

I rolled my eyes, opening my trunk to take out my homework, and school books so I could put them on the desk across the room. "Have you heard from Hermione yet?"

He bounced up and down a bit on my bed. "Yeah, she'll be here on Friday."

I nodded, starting to hang up my clothes in the bureau. "What about Harry? Mum said he wasn't staying here anymore? You don't think they've sent him back with the Dursleys, do you?"

Ron froze. "They better bloody hadn't have. Why bother sending him there, when he was already here, with people who actually love him?"

I cooed. "Awww… you love him, Ronnie?" I messed up his hair and kissed the side of his head, laughing.

"Fuck off…"

* * *

"Ginny!" I sped up down the hall from the drawing room and into the kitchen.

"Yeah, right – I'm here." Everyone was milling around the kitchen, setting the table and helping mum with the cooking. It'd taken Ron and me a week of sheer boredom, being forced to listen to Fleur drone on about the exact shade of the little iced roses that were on her wedding cake, to decide to help Sirius and Remus out with the decorating of the house. I held my hands aloft, trying not to touch my clothes.

"Have you seen Sirius?"

I nodded slowly; glancing nervously over at Phlegm… she had a book filled with photos of bridesmaids dresses open on the dining table… "Yeah, do you want me to go tell him that dinner's ready?"

Mum nodded, waving a sharp knife in my direction. "And you can wash that paint off your hands while you're at it."

I quickly turned to leave before Phlegm could quiz me on what dress I thought looked nicer, even though my answer wouldn't mean anything to her. I grinned, trailing a finger along Ron's face as he walked past, leaving a line of cream paint down his face. He glowered, trying to wipe it off, only succeeding in spreading it even further across his face.

I laughed, running up the stairs, trying my best not to touch anything on the way back up. I slowed as I reached the bottom of the last flight, looking up them curiously. Sirius was talking to someone.

"I'm just so sorry that I didn't catch this sooner, maybe I could have –"

"Don't, Sirius. You know there is nothing that anyone could have done."

He sighed, and I tilted my head to the side, looking around the corner at Sirius, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against a door, a third door that hadn't been there before. Apparently he was talking to someone sitting on the other side. "I should have known though… James grew up listening to ridiculous stories about his ancestors. There was one, about his great grandfather Lexious, who lived in the early 1800's. He was bitten by a vampire when he was seven… he was a full vampire, who fell in love with a muggle. They had a son, who was protected from the curse by his mother's blood.

"Stories of him travel through the generations, warning descendents to marry into pureblood to keep them safe… James thought it was just a fairy tale designed to keep the bloodline pure. But then he fell in love with Lily and I think he must have forgotten about it until you were born.

"He kept mumbling things to me about it – and I thought he was just being stupid. I mean, I saw him standing over your cot shortly after you were born – he looked so worried… turns out he wanted you to have at least a shot at a normal life… he and lily found a spell that would postpone 'the change' for 16 to 17 years, depending on the person in question… turns out you couldn't last even that long…"

"Sirius I'm fine… It'll be over soon any way."

Sirius nodded, but didn't reply. I steadied myself on the stairs and took them slightly louder than normal to give him a chance to collect himself.

I watched as he quickly stood, brushing down his clothes. "Ginny! What are you doing up here?"

"I uh… mum wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready."

He nodded quickly. "Right, of course… I'll be down in five."

I smiled. "Alright. Don't take too long though or Ron'll have eaten it all." I joked, getting a smile out of him before turning and walking down the first flight of stairs.

It was when I was rounding the cornering banister to the next flight that I heard the door open, now that Sirius couldn't see me, and I looked up just in time to see a dark figure walk out, hugging Sirius.

"Don't be stupid, Sirius. Stop being so hard on yourself…" the voice was hoarse, and incredibly deep. I couldn't help but shudder as the tone met my senses.

The figure turned his face away from Sirius' neck on his shoulder to look down, and for a moment my heart stopped. It was Harry! I nearly fell down the stairs in shock – he looked bloody terrible. His eyes were blood-shot, and incredibly dark, his skin, though as pale as it was the last time I'd seen him had lightened even further, giving him an ivory, almost marble sheen, contrasting fantastically with his eyes, and hair. His hair had somehow magically grown quite a bit since May, shaggy, and still jet black, sticking up in every direction from all over his head, but it was down just below his ears, and his fringe swept right across his face, almost completely obscuring his left eye.

He was also at least a couple of inches taller, though still considerably shorter than Sirius. He stared right through me, his eyes locking on mine. He tilted his head slightly, mouthing 'hello'.

I started, nearly slipping off the step. "Hi…" I whispered, but my lips barely moved, and the noise barely left my lips. He smiled; apparently it reached him just fine.

He jerked his hand toward the stairs behind Sirius' back. 'Go on.' He mouthed, beginning to pull away from Sirius. I nodded, wide-eyed, quickly racing down the rest of the stairs as quickly and as quietly as I possibly could until I hit the kitchen, breathing heavily.

I took a few minutes to compose myself, but no matter what I did the same thing kept flying through my mind.

_Harry _was upstairs. Harry had always _been _upstairs – _why_ was he upstairs?

Each sentence was shouted in my mind – screaming at me to answer them, to find the answers. I shook my head, clenching my fists. No. No meddling. Sirius will tell everyone what's going on when he thinks the time is right to.

But there was still that little eleven year old love sick part of me yelling 'HE SMILED AT YOU!' at the top of her voice.

I sighed; unclenching my fists, looking down at them… they were still covered in paint. I looked up at the banisters, all of which had little hand shaped prints at every few inches. I bit my bottom lip… mum was going to kill me.

* * *

I sighed, rolling over on my bed. It was hot, so I was above the covers in a loose tank top and a pair of shorts, and my window was wide open behind the closed curtains. It was at the very least 2am by this point, but the thought that Harry was in the room directly above mine was driving me mental… that and the fact that there was a very serious Order meeting going on down stairs. Dumbledore was here, and it had been running since after dinner, so it had to be something important.

Fred and George had stayed over at the apartment over their shop sorting out some new stock, and Bill and Charlie were actually at the meeting, so with no one here to lead the renegade – no one had been bothered about finding out what it was about. It was too warm to want to stand out in the hall anyway.

I was starting to wonder if it was just this house that was so bloody warm. Outside, sure it was summer, so it was still sweltering, but in here, it was definitely hotter. I'd asked Sirius about it and he'd just shrugged it off. Maybe it has something to do with Harry… he had looked incredibly ill…

I shook my head. This is it! I rolled off the bed and stormed out of the door. I was going to go up there, and go talk to Harry – I'd been stewing about this all day, and I needed answers.

I'd barely got across the landing when I heard footsteps. Quiet, and graceful, barely heard on the hard wood flooring, but it was there. All too quickly whomever it was had appeared at the top of the staircase, shaking violently as if cold, though he was wrapped in an over large leather jacket…

"Harry?" I asked attentively.

His head shot up as he turned to make his way up the next flight of stairs. His eyes met mine and I gave a gasp of shock. "Harry!" I breathed, running forward.

I flung my arms around him, glad to know that it was really him, in the flesh. But he flinched back, and I frowned. Was he not as happy to see me as I was him?

His lips were pursed tightly together, and he gave me a hard look, his jaw set. "Harry?"

He shook his head, kneading his forehead before running his fingers through his hair. He appeared to be sweating, though I wasn't surprised with the amount of gear he had on… then again he was shaking… I began to get worried.

He seemed to take a few seconds to find his voice. "Ginny." He said politely.

I scowled at him, my hands on his shoulders from where I'd paused in my pursuit to hug him. "I swear to Merlin, Harry if you don't drop the formalities and hug me right now I'll go down there and tell Ron and Hermione everything I know."

A genuine smile, like the one he'd given me earlier spread across his face, though it looked like it hurt him physically to do so. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me close. He froze seconds after. "You're really warm."

I smirked, my head on his collarbone. "Well yeah, Harry, it's like being in frigging Ibitha here. Are you not hot in that?" I tugged at the overlarge leather jacket.

He shook his head, frowning. "No… I'm freezing… was freezing – you're really warm." He repeated.

I laughed. "Okay…" I stood back, and he shuddered. "Are you alright? You look really quite ill."

He grit his teeth. "I'm… I – I'm just not at my best right now." His voice was careful, and low, and flowed together rather elegantly, drawing me in.

I leaned forward slightly, not entirely in control of what I was doing. He cleared his throat, and I jumped, my face on fire. What the hell was I thinking?!

Someone was coming up the stairs. He smiled at me kindly, almost understandingly as I felt a blush creeping up my neck. I saw his eyes drop, following the pink cloud as it drifted right across my neck, and my collarbone. I closed my eyes, slightly more embarrassed by the fact that my blush went down so low.

"You should go before Sirius gets up here." His voice was tight, strained.

I nodded, desperate to get away before I embarrassed myself further.

* * *

_Quikie Authors Note: I put in a previously because I wanted to try something new, and because it'll come in handy in later chapters, believe me. And if you haven't heard the song Before I forget by Slipknot, get it listened to, or at least check out the lyrics because it fits Harry in this almost perfectly! Anyway - Review! (Which was shouted in a Doctor Who-esque way... David Tennant way... one word, you know? MAIDEN! What I wouldn't give to shout that at Agatha Christie...._


	3. Meeting

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

_A/N: Okay, so I'm telling you this now: I Laydeh Lemon Drop, do in fact know that Xbox360s and iPods did not exist in 1996. I do also realize that they didn't use DVD's, they used video tapes. I only mention this fact NOW because if one person mentions that that kinda technology doesn't exist, I will yell, and I will generally be annoyed. Because Fanfiction is what it says on the tin. FAN fiction. And I, (Laydeh Lemon Drop =P) as an Author on this site, have every right to pretend that that kinda thing exists in the 90's. It's just something for Harry to be occupied with while he's all locked up and bored out of his brain. _

_And now you can read:_

* * *

Quote: "**Donna Noble****:** There are things waiting in the darkness. Creatures of metal, fire and blood. But he's out there, burning through time, facing a thousand dangers across the stars and never giving up. He looks like a man but he's a legend and his name is _the Doctor_. He'll come back to save us and this time I'm going to be ready. Then just like that...

**Donna Noble and The Doctor****:** We'll be gone."

I… Dunno, I just really like Doctor Who? And it's a brilliant Quote, is it not? xD

**

* * *

**

**Blood and Chocolate **

_**Part One: Red Sky**_

Chapter Three: Meeting

_*Harrys POV*_

* * *

_Previously: He grit his teeth. "I'm… I – I'm just not at my best right now." His voice was careful, and low, and flowed together rather elegantly, drawing me in._

_I leaned forward slightly, not entirely in control of what I was doing. He cleared his throat, and I jumped, my face on fire. What the hell was I thinking?!_

_Someone was coming up the stairs. He smiled at me kindly, almost understandingly, as I felt a blush creeping up my neck. I saw his eyes drop, following the pink cloud as it drifted right across my neck and my collarbone. I closed my eyes, slightly more embarrassed by the fact that my blush went down so low._

"_You should go before Sirius gets up here." His voice was tight, strained._

_I nodded, desperate to get away before I embarrassed myself further._

* * *

The meeting seemed to want to go on forever. Sirius and Remus had been downstairs in the kitchen for nearly three hours now. I'm pretty sure it's about me, though why they've been talking that long is beyond me. Sirius and I had sat and talked about pretty much everything since he'd gotten up this morning.

I suppose he must feel bad that I'm on my own up here all day. It's not his fault. And I'm sure that if the Weasleys weren't here I'd be situated downstairs on the sofa or in the library so I was around them during the day, but the changes my body was going through wouldn't allow it.

They're not even entirely sure when it'll all be over, only that they're working on a stronger pain medication to stop me from being in agony pretty much the entire time I'm awake.

So far the only noticeable changes were that I'd paled so much that if I lay down in snow I'd disappear, my eyes were darkening, I was getting taller, and not in the normal way either. Others were as simple as the fact that I could hear most conversations going on floors below me, which at first had really hurt my ears, my eyesight had sharpened to the point that I no longer needed glasses and I was so strong that the last time I grabbed Sirius' arm while they ran some more, rather painful tests, I'd broken it in 3 places.

I was having continuous outbursts of random magic. I was so cold all the time that Sirius had had to put the heating in the house right up, even at his, and everyone else's expense. I was slowly loosing my appetite, and Remus had caught me during the night not breathing.

They were terrified of what was happening to me, I mean, I can't really blame them but it's not helping anything. They had insisted that at least one person was in the room with me at anytime, be it one of my guardians, Madame Pomfrey or one of the Healers, someone had to be there. But I was afraid that I would hurt one of them, so it came to the point where I had to lock them out.

The room was sound proof, so that another incident like the one when the Weasleys had first arrived wasn't to happen again.

I sat back against the wall behind my bed, wiggling my fingers and watching as magic crackled between my fingertips. It was a vivid, vibrant green, little flecks of hazel, gold and pale green swirling together like fire and ice, electric. I twisted my hand, watching as it jumped from finger to finger, slowly building up and progressing down my hand to my wrist.

The door banged open, and Sirius wandered in. He pocketed his wand, sitting on the end of my bed, eyes on my hand. "Does that not hurt?"

I thought about it for a moment, looking at my hand. "It… burns a little…It hurts more as it grows."

Sirius sighed. "I talked to Dumbledore. He says that he's sure your magic will settle once you've… fully changed."

He meant died.

I was rapidly changing to a fully grown vampire, and wizard, all at once. Once I died, I wouldn't grow anymore, and my magical core needed to fully mature first, otherwise there was every chance that it'd kill me, but wouldn't bring me back as a vampire. My physical age was approaching seventeen quickly, and once it did – this would all be over. Or so I hope.

I closed my hand, extinguishing the torrents hiding it from view.

"The meeting downstairs – the whole order's there… we're going to tell them the vague version of the truth, and I think it'd help if you were there too." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Obviously you don't have to. It's up to you. We've been explaining everything that we've found out for the last few hours, and they want to see you. Just five minutes I promise."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you kidding me? I've been stuck in this room for two months! It's July, Sirius, being stuck in here is killing me." I sat forward, trying, and failing, to untangle myself from the numerous blankets wrapped around me.

Sirius rolled his eyes, leaning over to tug one of the blankets forward, subsequently causing all other blankets to fall apart around me.  


* * *

The meeting wasn't that bad. It only lasted a further ten minutes, and though it was bloody freezing down there, and I didn't really concentrate on what any of them were actually saying, I managed to get through it without much of a problem. I ended up stealing Sirius' leather jacket to get warmer after the first five, while they were asking me questions.

Mrs. Weasley was crying.

I've never been comfortable around crying women, and she was no exception, even as much as I loved her like a mother. Mr. Weasley was whispering something hurriedly in her ear. Tonks, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore sat passively by, watching as people slowly reacted to the news.

There were a few who didn't seem at all bothered, or surprised, like Moody and Snape, who I'd realized, just by the expressions on their faces as I entered, had figured it out immediately. Hestia Jones had her head in her hands, and Kingsley Shacklebolt was leaning back in his chair, dumfounded. Mundungus appeared to be trying to slide backward in his chair, as if afraid to be near me, and all of Ron's older brothers were staring at me in disbelief. Fleur had one hand over her mouth, half frozen, the other clutching her fiancées hand on the table top.

Dumbledore must have told Professor McGonagall, because while looking slightly saddened, it didn't seem like it was new news to her.

There was a long silence after every one seemed to have gotten their answers until Dumbledore spoke up, looking at me kindly. It was the first time we'd spoken since June. "You can go to bed now, Harry, if you wish. We have a few more things to discuss, and then you can have your godfather back." He spoke slowly and clearly, and I nodded back to him, moving to stand.

Sirius put his hand on my shoulder. "Actually… I'd rather he were here for the next bit."

I frowned up at him. Snape looked at the man as if he was stupid. "It's just final plans for the trial next week. He doesn't need to be briefed on what's happening until right before, and he already knows the rest." he snapped, clearly annoyed that Sirius wanted me included in the discussion.

Sirius hesitated, sharing a look with Remus. "There's something else I'd like to bring to your attention." He looked to Dumbledore for approval, who sat down and waved his hand for Sirius to continue. He took a deep breath. "Do any of you remember Mary MacDonald?"

A murmur went through the group, and I racked my brain for when I'd heard the name before. Tonks looked to be thinking the same thing as me. "Should I know her?"

Sirius nodded. "Whenever Andy asked me to babysit you when I was still in school… and after that, actually, I tended to always have someone with me, I know you remember having Lily, James and Remus there."

She seemed to blush bright red, glancing at Remus, who was slowly paling. I had to wonder what they must have been thinking about.

"Mary came with me a couple of times after we graduated from Hogwarts, and before her, Dorcas, Cadorac and Marlene would stop by every now and again, but not often enough, I think, for you to remember them." He paused, glancing at me warily as I slumped back in my seat.

"You guys," he pointed at the Weasley boys and Fleur. "Won't remember her, she was a member of the Order, back when Voldemort was last in power."

Snape was scowling, obviously remembering. Professor McGonagall's eyes were clouded. "She disappeared the night Lily and James died. We assumed she'd run, or… or died."

Sirius nodded. "She ran." McGonagall's head shot up, and Snape's eyes widened. He knocked his knuckles off the table top. "I told her to run that night, before I went to go check on Pettigrew and Lily and James. I knew something was wrong, so I told her to pack and leave, and never look back. That I'd meet her with Lily, James, Harry and Remus once I'd made sure they were okay. But of course Lily and James were dead, Harry was sent to the Dursleys," Out of the corner of my eye I saw a glimmer of a wince, barely a twitch, on the old mans face behind where Sirius stood. "And I was thrown in Azkaban. No one knew where she'd gone, I certainly couldn't tell anyone, and I couldn't go after her like I'd promised. I just had to hope that she'd made it out of the country alive and she was okay."

He sighed and sat down, everyone was looking at him with varying expressions, anything from surprised to, in Snape's case, annoyed. "I told her to go to a house my family owns in New Zealand. I was going to go after her when I escaped, while I was on the run. It wouldn't have been too hard, and with any chance I could have hidden out with her, but I was terrified of what she'd think of me, especially in the state I was in. So I waited. I regrouped. Sorted myself out… and now I'm… hopefully… going to be cleared of all charges in this trial, and when that happens, I want to go get her, bring her back… At least let her know what happened, she deserves that much, even if she never wants to see me again."

Remus jumped in as Sirius sat down heavily, he was looking at me worriedly and I slowly came to realize that he was scared of what my reaction would be. One more connection to my life before my parents died and he'd hidden it from me. Obviously not purposefully, and I wasn't really all that bothered. He'd known her and I hadn't. He _actually _knew her, and if he hadn't been ready to face her then that was up to him, not me.

"Sirius could be gone for a couple of weeks; even more if she decides she wants to come home. She'll have to wrap up her life there to come back, and that could take some time. Harry needs constant supervision and, as you all know, I'll be going on a mission shortly and we don't know when I'll be back." Remus continued on, explaining the finer details of what they were planning on doing while Sirius was gone and who was going to escort him to the airport, considering that even being cleared of charges, they could never be sure of how people would react if they saw him out in public.

Sirius leaned over to me, lowering his voice. "There's a chance that I could miss your birthday." He paused, adding as an afterthought. "And the finalization of… everything." He still couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.

I shrugged, restraining myself from saying that he'd missed every other birthday I could remember. "It doesn't matter. She's your friend right? She'll only hate you more for keeping her in the dark for longer than necessary. At least now you can drop it all under the net of being on the run or in Azkaban." I tried smiling at him, and it seemed to work, a small chuckle erupting from the older man.

"She does have one hell of a temper."

* * *

Tonks had moved in permanently in preparation for when Sirius got off earlier on today. No one dared mention that there was every chance that he could get thrown back in prison, all unbearably smiley, and happy, spouting encouragement and thumping him on the back as Order members milled in and out of the house, preparing for the events to follow on the twelfth.

The Healers were coming to see how I was doing pretty much daily now. James Payne was certain that I was 'making a lot of progress', whatever he meant by that. If he was referring to the fact that I wasn't in nearly as much pain as before then sure, I wasn't as cold either. I'd been warming up slowly over the past two weeks and I had no idea why.

Everything seemed to be up and down, not connecting or making any sense to me at all, but when I explained it to whichever Healer was there at the time, they'd nod and hum, and write things down on their bloody clipboards, apparently getting it all but not explaining why it was happening.

It was the night before the trial, and I'd insisted on going with them since I knew I wouldn't be able to bear waiting behind for the results. Sirius was going in first, letting them take him away. Then we'd follow on after to watch the trial from behind the glass in the observation room. We weren't allowed in with him. And even if we were, I doubt we would, anyone found to have been hiding him could be prosecuted.

Sirius was leaving early the next day for his flight to New Zeeland, and Remus was leaving for his mission a further two days after that. It'd just be me and Tonks then, the Weasleys were leaving tomorrow morning to go back to the Burrow. Bill had to go back to work, Fred and George to their shop; Fleur would be busy with setting up house at Shell Cottage, not far from the Burrow, and Charlie had paid for the rest of the family, minus Percy, to go to Romania for a month with him while he worked, showing them what he did in his new line of work, giving them two weeks at the end of the summer to get ready to go back to school.

Never mind Hermione, she was going to Australia with her parents. They'd expressed a sudden want for a holiday home out there and were planning on going to back to Sydney to see if it was as good as they'd remembered from a few years previous. Apparently some friends of the family had migrated out there and it was brilliant.

So basically everyone was leaving the country on holiday, or something close, in the next few days and I was stuck to fester in this damned house for god knows how much longer, waiting to die.

It wasn't exactly the nicest feeling in the world.

I rolled over onto my back, lolling my head to the side to look at the clock. 4:43. I groaned mentally, though I could feel it straining at the back of my throat to get out. It was too quiet. Sirius was silent next door though, upon really listening, Ron's snoring filtered in through the silence two floors down. There were birds outside my window already tweeting in the early hours of the morning and someone was wandering around below me. A small smash and a voice that sounded distinctly like Ginny's swearing loudly.

I let out a short laugh, wondering what the hell she was doing, and _why_ she was up. Not that I could talk… the street lamps were glowing orange through the open curtains, the window was open and a gentle breeze floated through the stuffy room. It was too hot.

Sirius hadn't believed me when I'd first mentioned that fact. He'd thought I was taking the piss. Then he'd realised that I wasn't and he'd laughed. It was good to know that someone found it funny.

4:48.

I grimaced, looking across the room for inspiration. The room was full of shelves stacked high with books. Sirius had even gone to the lengths of asking Remus for any 'ideas' for what to put in here to keep me busy. Being cooped up in here had gotten boring fast and, once my homework was done with, there was only so much reading I could take. Eventually, after realizing that putting a wireless in here didn't_ do _anything at all, they'd gone muggle. Removing the school related books that Remus had offered as something to do and replacing the empty shelf space with stacks of Videos and DVDs.

A television, bigger than any of the ones that Dudley had broken or rejected back when, was mounted on the wall opposite my bed. It'd started off small, adding box sets of television shows that Sirius' old friend from work thought I might like. He was a part of the Order, having used to work along side Sirius when he was an Auror.

It seemed to have escalated from there, Auror Copperfield, the 'friend from work', had 'recommended' that Sirius get me a games console, because it 'sure as hell keeps me busy for hours at a time'. So now a 360 sat on a desk under the TV. Then the games had piled up either side slowly as the weeks progressed. Copperfield was muggle-born, and had a massive thing for technology. I knew, I'd been at his house once, not too long ago, over Easter.

We'd been in the City during the Easter Holidays, Sirius as a dog, when we'd run into Death Eaters and Remus had had apparate us out to a safe house, the nearest one happening to be Copperfield. I have to admit, he was pretty kitted out. His entire living room was dedicated to entertainment. Large plush sofas, wide screen TV, surround sound, multiple gaming consoles lined up underneath, attached to different channels.

The icing on the cake had been when Copperfield had dropped off an iPod, something to do with helping with my sleeping problem. And it really did, most of the time. I just generally didn't like people spending money on me. I don't even want to know how he managed to get everything to work up here without a main electricity supply. It had taken an afternoon of Sirius and Copperfield fiddling around with wires to get the sound sorted.

It'd been pretty funny really.

Obviously none of it would work in Hogwarts, but it was good for now, while I was stuck in here 24/7.

I reached out beside me, trying to find the thing in question. It did occasionally help me sleep when I was listening to something quiet, or an audio book or something anyway. Swearing, I had to root around under the covers for a few minutes to find it before shoving it under my pillow, grumbling as I tried to get comfortable to try and go to sleep.

I had to get up at nine…

The next time I opened my eyes, still having failed to sleep, I glanced apprehensively at the clock. 5:20.

Swearing to myself I yanked the headphones out, pushed them under the piles of pillows and threw the covers back, giving up on sleep to go down stairs. Eating seemed a good idea around about now.

Ginny was still stumbling around in her room as I walked past, and I half wanted to go see what it was that she was doing, but immediately thought better of it as Hermione's bedroom door opened, and I was forced to run down stairs before she caught sight of me.

Once downstairs I grabbed the first thing that caught my fancy, which happened to be ice-cream, and sat up on the kitchen counter by the sink. It seemed a lot hotter down here than it had been at the meeting, a week before.

But of course it would be, Sirius was still toggling the heating up and down depending on how I felt first thing in the morning, and today I'd woken up frozen, only to heat up as the day went on. It really didn't make any sense to me and I'd given up trying to understand it, preferring just to wait until it was over.

Shouldn't be that much longer now anyway. Healer Susan Brand said she'd give it three weeks, whereas Patterson insisted two, and Payne said it could be as soon as tomorrow, though they weren't sure whether it would just happen, or be built up to, or even what would actually happen when it did come to it. Which was a _very _comforting thought.

Irritated with the humidity levels in the room, and how sticky it made me feel, I leant across the sink to push the window wide open, then pulled my, now slightly damp, shirt over my head and threw it into the sink, annoyed when it got caught around my fingers. It was too early to function properly.

There was a loud thud as someone slid down three steps and a pause as they righted themselves. I stopped, sliding off the counter and hiding slightly out of immediate view so I could disappear if it was any one other than Sirius, Remus or Tonks.

But of course it was none of them.

Ginny's long, red hair dropped down between the bars on the stairs as she looked under the slanted ceiling to see if anyone was up. Unable to see me, she continued on down and turned the corner, walked into the pitch black darkness of the kitchen, turned toward the fridge and stared right at me, shrieking loudly, her hand on her mouth. I had to laugh.

"Am I that scary?" I took another mouthful of my ice-cream. Apparently I was, I could hear her heart thudding from over here.

She dropped her hand down and scowled. "You're standing in the kitchen, half naked, at 5am, in the dark, eating fucking ice-cream, what do you think?"

I laughed again, walking away to sit on the counter. She grabbed a glass, walking over to the sink to get a drink when she stopped, looking over at where I was sitting to the right of it. "Why the hell is your shirt in the sink?" she threw it at me, running the tap.

"Because it wants to be there." I answered without missing a beat, watching as the ice-cream melted in the heat of the room.

She rolled her eyes, sitting down on a near by chair. I smirked at her, dropping my shirt onto the counter next to me. She was looking at me weirdly, or rather with a look I hadn't seen on her face before.

She cleared her throat, looking down at her glass. There was a long pause. "What were you doing? Banging about I mean."

She didn't look up. "Unpacking."

"Why?"

"I'm not going to Romania with mum and dad, Sirius came up to me the other day and asked me to stay here while he was gone."

I frowned. "Why the hell would he do that?"

She shrugged. "Something about keeping you company and he didn't feel comfortable leaving you here on your own. Then he bribed me with the fact that I'm supposed to be going shopping next week with a few friends. Scarlet's brother just got engaged and she needs a dress to wear for the engagement party. I promised that I would help, and then she would have been staying at the Burrow for a while." She took a drink, crossing her legs on the wooden chair. "But of course mum wouldn't let me stay at the burrow on my own while they're away for a month, so Sirius offered for me to stay here, and Scarlet, when she gets here." She shook her head. "He really thinks things through."

I gave her a doubtful look. "…And your mum agreed?"

"There was a lot of yelling, and at one point I heard something break, but yeah, she's fine with it."

"I still don't understand why you'd be unpacking at 5 in the morning."

"I went to bed early… then woke up at 4 and couldn't sleep." She said softly, looking back down at her drink.

There was a thud on the landing, and Sirius appeared at the door, eyes half closed, and his pajama pants ruffled and on inside out. He pointed at the stairs. "Sleep, now. It's half past 5." he said in a low voice. Ginny put her glass in the sink and hurried out of the way.

I stared at Sirius for a while longer, who bent his elbow a little, stabbing his finger in the direction of the stairs with more force. "Now."

I jumped off the counter top. "Fine. But I'm taking this with me." he grunted in response. I tucked a part of my shirt behind the waistband of my pants so I didn't have to carry it, walking up the stairs with Sirius on my tail.

Ginny was half way up the stairs already, but I caught up with her quickly and she made an odd noise, speeding up slightly. I tried my best not to watch her bum as she ascended the stairs. Apparently I wasn't doing a good enough job, because Sirius smacked my side lightly, laughing, suddenly much more awake than before.

* * *

Waiting behind the glass, in the reinforced room during the trial was hell. I'd had to come in under the invisibility cloak so people didn't see how different I looked, and so the press didn't get wind of me being there, they'd have had a field day.

I wasn't really listening to what they were saying on the other side, just watching as Sirius carefully answered the questions that were thrown at him, waiting for the deciding moment. It couldn't be that far away could it? They'd been back and forth for an hour and a half now. Remus' leg was jumping where he sat behind me, leant forward in his seat with his elbows on his knees and his hands under his chin. Tonks had been pacing for the last 10 minutes.

Reporters and photographers stood silently outside the doors, writing furiously, hovering like vultures. Everything had gone quiet on the other side, and Remus sat up, listening carefully. I could see Sirius seated at that horrible chair with the chains, chewing on his bottom lip, looking sick to his stomach and for once, Dumbledore, standing on the sidelines, having been representing him, seemed to be holding his breath too.

The words "And all in favour of conviction?" floated through the glass, and for a moment my heart seemed to stop beating. A few people with dark expressions on there faces seemed to want to raise their hands, but didn't dare, seconds later the minister nodded down at Sirius, smiling, announcing that he was clear of all charges.

Sirius seemed stunned beyond words, frozen, Dumbledore exhaled, walking over to pull Sirius out of his chair by the hand, congratulating him, though he didn't seem to notice. Tonks gave a loud shout of delight behind me, and I could hear her jumping up and down, flinging her arms around Remus' neck as he stood up.

I sat for a few seconds longer, watching as Dumbledore patted Sirius on the shoulder, smiling down at him brightly, talking quietly. Sirius nodded twice, still in shock.

Without really thinking about it, I stood up and walked around Remus and Tonks, who were swaying slightly, Tonks babbling. Pushing the door open, I broke out into a run, pushing through the reporters and into the hall before any of them had chance to realise what was happening or who I was.

Sirius saw me coming, stepping away from Dumbledore, who turned to see what he was doing as he took a step forward and opened his arms to let me hug him. I nearly knocked him over with the force of it, not trying to slow down before I got to him. He let out a soft huff on impact, hugging me back.

His eyes were shimmering, and for a moment I thought he was going to cry. I wouldn't blame him. He was now free to go back to his life after nearly 15 years of being locked away. He took in a deep breath, looking down at me. "This is it, right? I'm definitely-"

I grinned widely. "Yeah, you're free."

He gave a soft 'hah' of surprise and joy as it finally hit him, swiping the back of his hand across his nose. His was smiling so widely his face was liable to break in two. Dumbledore came up behind him seconds after, his hand on Sirius' shoulder, looking at something behind me.

I suddenly became very aware of the camera flashes, and the amount of people that seemed to have flooded into the room. I had turned to look at them for half a second before Dumbledore and Sirius collectively grabbed me and pulled me behind them, shielding me from view, faces hard.

Remus and Tonks shoved their way through the crowd, running forward with the emergency portkey on the way out of Remus' pocket. My hand was forced onto the book and suddenly we were flying through the air, the flashes of light becoming blinding as I became rather disorientated.

* * *

It was as I decided to wander downstairs to the kitchen that it became fairly obvious that Ginny was back. I could hear the soft music from two floors down, someone who wasn't Ginny singing loudly and out of tune along with it as irregular thuds, marking their ascension of the stairs, beat out in the background.

"Hello little boys, little toys. We're the dreams you're believing, crawling up the walls, running down your face - Razor sharp, razor clean, feel the weapon's sensation. On your back... With loaded guns…"

I couldn't help but snort at the song choice, slowing as I hit the landing on Ginny's floor, watching the top of the stairs for the girls on the way up. I had to try not to laugh as I saw a girl, obviously Scarlet, dancing her way up the stairs, explaining the irregular foot fall. She was swishing her head about a lot, causing her long black hair to fly around her head.

"Now hold onto meeeee pretty baby, if you want to fly. I'm gonna melt the fever sugar, rolling back your eyes…We're gonna ride the race cars, we're gonna dance on fire…"

Her fingers tapped along the banister to the beat, and the moment both of her feet had hit the landing she did a little twirl, flicking an unsuspecting Ginny in the nose with her hair. The music was coming out of her right pocket.

While she carried on dancing toward Ginny's bedroom door I turned my attention to Ginny herself, who was scowling heavily. Her red hair was almost covering her eyes completely, though she was unable to do anything about it as her hands were full of shopping bags, her arms crossed over her chest to keep most of them aloft while the others dangled from her fingers.

She was breathing heavily, though I was sure it was more to keep from shouting at her friend than exhaustion. She tried to blow her fringe out of her face.

Wait…

"Did you have you're hair cut while you were out?" It looked really different and I couldn't figure out why.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes." She adjusted the bags in her arms and I took the hint, first tucking the hair falling over her face behind her ear with a grin before carefully prying over half the bags from her fingers.

She relaxed visibly, her shoulders slackening. Still trying to figure out what was different about her hair, I was distracted momentarily by Scarlet, who had just grabbed the doorframe and swung herself around into Ginny's room, a resounding thud following her before she was seen skipping and twirling across Ginny's room.

"So what's it gonna take? Silver shadow believer....Spock rocker with your dirty eyes. It's a chance gonna move, gonna fuck up your ego, silly boy gonna make you cry…"

"We're gonna ride the race cars. We're gonna dance on fire... We're the girls Le Disko. Supersonic overdrive." She let out a strangled moan with the music, pretty much the only part of her mimicking that actually matched the original.

I looked around at Ginny, who had her eyes closed and her nose scrunched up. "So… what exactly did you feed her while you were out?"

Her eyes flew open, wide. "Nothing! She ate... Nothing!" Her cheeks flushed slightly with frustration. "In fact, no! She ate a Yum Yum, that's it, and that was right before we got in the car with her brother."

"Her brother?" I asked idly, suddenly aware that more people were coming up the stairs. A woman with short, dark brown hair walking hand in hand with a much bigger, much burlier, dark haired bloke.

He nodded at me politely. "'Ha'right, marra?" he stated, rather than asked, in way of greeting, pulling the girl into Ginny's room. The engagement ring on her finger flashed at me as she disappeared from view.

Ginny was giggling.

I blinked, clearing my throat. "Yum Yums?" They sounded… different.

"They're like… twisted pastry things soaked in icing. We got them from Greggs before we left the guys at the bus stop. I shoved them in the fridge with some sausage rolls and things in case you hadn't eaten yet." She shook her head. "She was worse in town, she was singing bleeding… 'Get Up, Get Off' down the high street, and she roped the guys into a rendition of 'We Will Rock You' while we were on the way to La Senza." She shuddered, apparently reliving something. "I have to help her get ready for her brothers Engagement party tonight."

I smirked at her, dropping the bags down inside her bedroom door. "See ya later, Gin." I let her walk past me before saluting her good luck from the top of the stairs mockingly, dropping down onto the first step backwards then turning to continue down the rest.

I heard her swear under her breath behind me and laughed quietly to myself as I headed down to the kitchen. True to her word, there was a box full of cakes with 'Greggs The Bakers' written on the front in a white green and yellow emblem. Sausage rolls and pasties enough to feed a dozen piled behind it and a packet of the Yum Yum things on the shelf below.

Forgoing the food, I grabbed a bottle of orange Fanta from the bottom bracket on the door and untwisted the lid with a flick of my fingers, shutting the door with my hip, drinking while I walked.

Remus had finally gone away on his mission for the Order, and Sirius had gone off on his trip to New Zealand three days prior, the day after the trial. With Tonks permanently living here now, she was the only adult in the house… if you could count her as such. At 23 she still acted like someone half her age, but with all the additions of being as old as she was.

She was usually up at eight to make breakfast for Ginny, and me if I wanted it, then out of the house by ten for work, and back by six for dinner unless she was working late. She had the full day off on Sunday, where she would generally just lounge around in her pyjamas until one, then get dressed, have lunch and do fuck all for the rest of the day with or without the presence of me or Ginny.

I passed Ginny once again at the top of the stairs, on the fourth floor; she stood behind a sulking Scarlet baring two large towels from the airing cupboard, and a toiletry bag. Scarlet was dragging her feet, a red dressing gown wrapped around her arm. "Do I absolutely have to do this first?"

Ginny lifted her leg up and pushed her foot firmly into Scarlet's backside, pushing her forward forcefully despite her size. Scarlet stumbled. "Yes! You have to actually be clean for me to do your nails, and your hair."

She gasped in mock horror. "How dare you young lady, I am clean!" she stumbled through the bathroom door.

Ginny snorted. "After what I caught you and Ste doing in the park, I highly doubt that!" she half shouted, bundling up the bag in the towels before throwing them at the other girl, grabbing the handle and slamming it shut. "I want you squeaky clean! You're just lucky my mum's not here to have to explain the grass stains to!"

She whirled around and caught me standing there. I took another drink of the fizzy pop in my hand. "Grass stains?" I quirked an eyebrow at her.

She pulled a face. "You don't wanna know, honestly, it is bad enough to hear, never mind see. You should have heard what she whispered in my ear in Asda - I nearly died choking on my drink!" She flashed me a grin. "I'll talk to you later; she's going at eight and won't be back until lunch time tomorrow." She said triumphantly.

I smiled, starting to walk up the stairs to the top floor. "Good, I want that game, and I fully intend on you testing it out with me."

Her laughter rang in my ears all the way back to my room.

* * *

_Quickie Authors Note (I foresee a few of these): I chronically loose my iPod in bed, eventually I give up and yank it up by the headphones from where ever it'd fucked off too. I honestly don't know what'd be scarier, what Harry did, or what my mate does. My mate, and now he isn't exactly the scariest bloke in the world, but if you walked into him in a dark alley, you'd be more terrified than if he were a horribly mangled serial killer, why? Because he stands stock still out of sight, and lets you walk into him, keeping a straight face and staring blankly ahead. He did it to my other mate last time he stopped at mine. He waited til she went to the bathroom then stood up in his sleeping bag with everything off and she (KATE! You'd better be back from Lon-don and on your way to the phone when your reading this!!), screamed bloody murder. He was pissing himself laughing, I was in bed, with the pillow over my head and it was like 2am so they woke my dad up, he had to go to work at 4 so he was pretty damned annoyed that he continued to pull her off the bed during the night, and fucking growl rather than snore, while awake._

Okay!_ So… the song was le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns, it was stuck in my head today so I thought fuck it. I really enjoyed writing the next chapter by the way, It's like… me on a normal day out with my mates =P If you're good (aka review a lot) I'll update either tomorrow or Monday with the next chapter. Then if your really rly good, Five will be up on Wednesday!_


	4. Dream

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

**IMPORTANT!!**_ A/N: Okay, I don't know if you will have gotten an alert announcing this as a new chapter, but if you did, then read on, because it's completely changed! I didn't like the conclusions some people drew from it, and I hadn't liked it to begin with so I thought I'd edit the hell out of it, new things have been added, and old things have been taken out. It's about 50 percent different, so it's not the same thing only with a few different words; it **genuinely** is like a completely different chapter. The first half may look the same, but I've added details in so it explains things a bit better, and taken a lot out, then the second half is completely different, because I just wrote it. _

_This is the first fic that I've bothered to withdraw and edit a chapter that I didn't like on, so… feel privileged, people! And if you didn't review the first time around, please do, I'd like to know if you like the changes =] Chapter five will be out in... Well, on Tuesday, unless my art work has something to say about that!_

**_If you don't want to reread the whole thing, skip down to the second from last divider, when they're in Costa, and read from there, those are the important changes! Though I did give a bit more of a hint toward who Adam and Scarlet are at some point before that I think so... I dont supose it matters anyway, a lot of it will be put into a later chapter again._**

_

* * *

_

_Quote:_

**Tim Latimer**: He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... He's wonderful.

**_The Family of Blood, Series 3, Doctor Who_**_. Still on that… The kid is describing the Doctor =] Next chapters got a **Doctor Who** quote as well… from **Doomsday** - last episode of the 2nd series, on Bad Wolf Bay =D_

**

* * *

**

**Blood and Chocolate**

**_Part One: Red Sky_**

Chapter Four: Dreams

_*Ginny's POV"_

* * *

Previously: _She pulled a face. "You don't wanna know, honestly, it is bad enough to hear, never mind see. You should have heard what she whispered in my ear in Asda - I nearly died choking on my drink!" She flashed me a grin. "I'll talk to you later, she's going at eight, and won't be back until lunch time tomorrow." She said triumphantly._

_I smiled, starting to walk up the stairs to the top floor. "Good, I want that game, and I fully intend on you testing it out with me."_

_Her laughter ringed in my ears all the way back to my room._

* * *

Everything was blurry.

Colours swirled around me with abandon, lights were flashing… and there was music playing in the distance, as if from under water. It was raining. Pouring, really. Everything was slowly rotating around, and it took me a moment to realise that it was me, twirling around on the spot, hands in the air either side of me. My head dropped back and let the water fall down on my face, eyes closed.

'_Come with me, into the trees, we'll lay on the grass and let the hours pass. __Take my hand, come back to the land, let's get away, just for one day…'_

Everything was ten times slower than it ever should have been. I was laughing, but I didn't know why, dropping my head down, and coming to a stop, I looked ahead to where he stood, still, staring at me.

Harry was standing a few meters away. He was drenched through, though didn't seem to be about to do anything about it any time soon. He tilted his head slightly… walking forward.

I was backing away, slowly stepping backwards, but he only sped up. I noticed it wasn't raining anymore, and the backs of my knees hit the end of my bed, I was falling backwards, my back hitting the mattress with an unexpected thud from the distant music.

'_Let. Me. See you… Stripped down. To the. **Bone**… _Let me hear you speaking just for me_… Let. Me. See you… Stripped down. To the. **Bone**… _Let me hear you crying just for me_…'_

He lowered himself down on top of me, his body pushing into mine… for a moment nothing happened, his face inches from mine but then his lips connected with mine. My eyes slid closed, his fingers trailing down my side…

Suddenly I seemed to sink right through the bed, and I was falling. It didn't stop. I just seemed to be slipping through the fabric of time and space, unknown to the waking world. Weightless.

Then I hit my bed again, and I was waking up in a cold sweat.

My face was wet, and it took shooting up to sit up in the middle of my bed, and running my hand across my face to realise that I'd been crying. My hands were shaking, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. Gasping for air, I raked my fingers through my damp hair, flinging the blankets back and crossing my legs. I propped my elbows up on my knees and dropped my head into my hands, pulling my hair out of my face as I closed my eyes again, letting the room spin.

I'd been having dreams about Harry since I'd first met him, on the platform in London. But they only ever got worse. He'd starred in a lot of my nightmares after he'd rescued me from the Chamber of Secrets, and, even now, years later, he only ever became a regular thing to appear in whatever my mind had in store for me. The crying was new though. I hadn't cried in my sleep in a very long time, not since the nightmares when I was 11.

They'd gotten a bit weirder lately, and I've stopped trying to understand them.

'_Metropolis. Has nothing on this, you're breathing in fumes, I taste when we kiss. Take my hand; come back to the land, where everything's ours, for a few hours…'_

That same beat as before was back, and I opened my eyes, looking up at the ceiling, Harry must be upstairs…

I took a deep breath, shakily getting to my feet, I rummaged through my wardrobe to find some suitable clothes for the shit weather outside, then to the draws over by the desk for underwear before venturing out across the hall, first checking to make sure that Harry wasn't around before running across the landing to the bathroom, grabbing a couple of towels from the airing cupboard on the way. It wouldn't do for him to catch me in nothing but knickers and a vest… though I did wonder how he'd react if he did.

Dropping my things on top of the closed washing basket, I slid open the glass doors of the shower, turning it on and adjusting the heat before walking back to my room to get my wash bag, pulling my top over my head on the way back. Tonks'd be at work by now, and Harry was obviously upstairs, judging by how the volume had randomly shot down, and an explosion erupted from upstairs in wake of a cut scene on whatever game he was playing.

Closing and locking the door, I dropped the shirt on the floor, and put the wash bag on the shelf inside the shower before stripping off completely and stepping under the hot spray. Shaking my head a little to clear it.

I could clearly hear what Harry was listening to through the ceiling, even over the sound of the shower, and I had to wonder how it didn't hurt his ears. The sound of numerous gun shots ripped through me, and I winced.

"_Alistair…" _

"_I feel… bloody awful."_ A bloke with a posh English accent that wasn't Harry was speaking. He grunted.

"_Shh… Just lie still…"_

"_I'll see…see you… see you… in… Avalon."_ There was a thud, and I snorted.

A sigh. _"Damn it!"_

I rolled my eyes, listening as the cut scene finished and the game started back up, music playing over it once again.

Leaning back against the stingingly cold tiled wall, I closed my eyes, letting the music wash over me, trying to clear my head. I was going shopping today, with Scarlet. She needed a new outfit for her Brother William's engagement party.

She was coming here, and then we were meeting the guys at the bus stop in Manchester. Why we couldn't just go shopping in London I didn't know. Something to do with it being really expensive, and that her brother had moved up to Cumbria on business, which was about 50 minutes away, and how he met his fiancé. He was going to drive me and her back to her house in Bolton right after.

…Possibly with the additional company of her boyfriend. I almost groaned at the thought.

There was nothing wrong with him, he was a nice lad, quite funny really, and I liked funny, she was just really forward around him no matter what the company was. I'd been watching a movie with them, and a couple of other mates. She'd taken her bra off to get more comfortable, lying on top of him, on her back, so of course that led to him sticking his hands down the collar of her shirt, and her mum walking in on it.

They hadn't noticed that she was there for a whole minute and a half before I'd caught her attention, and she'd smacked him one. He'd grinned, the bastard, and her mum, bless her, had just pretended like nothing had happened.

I felt bad for her dad really. He trusted them to sleep under the same roof as one another during sleepovers without any 'funny business', but I know for a fact that she's sleeping with him.

It was going to be hell. I didn't like shopping as it was. It was time consuming an annoying. I tended to only go out shopping when I knew exactly what I wanted, and where I was going to get it from, then I'd go out, get it and come back, no messing, no bother. That's why I hate clothes shopping so much. That took all day. In and out of the same shops _over _and _over_. It'd been worse whenever I'd gone with my mum as a kid. She'd spend two hours looking around the same shop only to walk out with nothing. Like I said, a waste of time.

That's why I always preferred going with dad. He'd take me to all these wizarding shops with new things that I'd never seen before and explain to me what they did. Sometimes he'd take me into muggle London and we'd look though the hardware shops, which were always fun. All the wires and shiny things that used to fascinate me as a kid. They still do now, really.

I'd deny it a thousand times if anyone said so, but I really do love muggle technology, like my dad, even if I didn't fully understand it.

…Maybe I could drag her into a couple of those ones… The guys surely wouldn't protest to it, it would be Scarlet that needed the convincing. Harry might need something, if he did, that'd be a good enough of an excuse to go.

Plotting my way into the hardware stores of Bolton, I jumped out of the shower as my fingers began to prune up, wrapping my hair up in a towel and wrapping the other around myself tightly before reaching behind the fogged up glass to grab my bag, pulling out the shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and razors and leaving them on the shelves. There was no point in taking them out, I was the only person on this floor now, and Harry had his own bathroom upstairs, or so Sirius had told me, and Tonks had the one on the floor below, conveniently placed next door to her room.

I knew I'd been in the bathroom for at least an hour, so it was a surprise to find that music was still blasting from upstairs, vibrating down through the house. Taking a quick look at the clock on the wall, and making a snap decision, I pulled some socks out of my draw and threw them on my bed, the 'snap decision' ruined by the fact that I couldn't find the right boots in the bottom of the cupboard.

I scowled. I could see two pairs of trainers, some flip-flops that I've had for two years but never worn, black stilettos… blue healed sandals… my school shoes from the previous year. Black knee high boots, but the suede ones with the pencil heels that I definitely didn't want, not with what Scarlet had planned unless I wanted my feet to bleed. Biker boots, but the ones that were made from mock leather, not the ones I wanted. Getting annoyed and pulling half of them out, I came across the right one, and then found the left stuck under an open draw. Nice.

Charlie had bought me them for Christmas last year. They went up to just above my knees, made from dragon hide, they were black and looked rather leather like, only if you looked at them in the right light they shimmered with a vaguely green tinge. They laced up at the front and buckled up in four places down the side. I loved them to bits, even if they had made the backs of my heels bleed when I had to break them in.

I didn't bother putting them on, grabbing my socks and running up the stairs before my brain could kick in. I hadn't actually been in his room before. I'd seen him standing outside it, talking to Sirius, and I'd seen him on the landing, then walked into him in the kitchen, and seen him regularly around the house since everybody left, but I hadn't gained the courage to go see him yet.

His bedroom door was open when I got to the top of the stairs, and I could see him sitting up against the pillows at the top of his bed. His brow was furrowed, concentrating on where I knew the screen was ahead of him. Gritting his teeth, he swore, slamming his thumb down on one of the buttons on the controller in his hand. I tried not to giggle, I really did, but he looked over at me anyway, albeit briefly, before his eyes flicked back to the screen, his face relaxing slightly.

I walked into the room almost cautiously, glancing around at the sheer amount of books he had lined up. His bed was squarely in the middle, it didn't have a headboard like mine did, but he'd piled pillows up behind him so he wasn't leaning against the wall. The right wall of the room had a door that lead to what I assumed must by the en suite bathroom, and on the left, right in the middle, was an angular curved window, jutting out from a ledge at about waist height.

The room wasn't overly large, but it wasn't exactly small either, and was very bland, the parts of wall void from shelves were a plain white, where as the bed was covered with a multitude of different blankets, all varying in colours, but the blue bedding underneath was just visible through them toward the top.

There was a small pause, in which there were a lot of gun shots over the music, and I turned to see a TV, not much bigger than the one in Scarlet's living room mounted on the wall. A woman in shorts and a tight t-shirt with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and high cheek bones, gun holsters strapped to her thighs rolled to the side, out of the way of a tiger. She was brandishing dual pistols, targeting it. She switched to targeting two of them at once, flipping through the air as she shot them. One hit the ground, but the other lunged. The screen went red, and she targeted it with both pistols, flipping through the air over it in slow motion as it went for her, delivering a fatal head shot.

When they were done with, she holstered the pistols, and walked up toward a large dilapidated building full of windows, it was crumbling in places, and broken stone pillars were littered around the front entrance. 3 men dressed in cameo ran out, armed, and she pilled out a Riffle, walking backwards as she targeted each of them individually, flawlessly shooting them down.

The music died and it went to another cut scene. She was talking to someone called 'Zip' through her PDA, examination the building. Harry dropped the controller into his lap, looking over at me expectantly.

"Hey, Gin."

I dropped my boots onto the floor. "Hey, uhm… what are you playing?"

The cut scene ended, and Harry quickly grabbed the controller, pressing a large button with an X on it and a flashing green light at the edge, flicking buttons in rapid succession until the music went quiet, and he pressed the same button again, then one to the right of it that seemed to pause the game, before dropping it again. "It's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This is the most recent, Underworld. The first one to carry on directly from a previous game, Legend, which is over there." He pointed at the stacks of green cases either side of the console itself.

There were a few newer, clear cases, and some blue ones, along with a black, sleek looking console. I gave him an incredulous look. "Did you get another one?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Sirius has been throwing his money around a lot lately. He has a lot of living to do, know that he's free, and even more money to accommodate that. He bought me it as a 'celebratory gift' for getting off. He wouldn't have gotten me it in the first place if it weren't for the fact that a game he'd intended on getting me was only available for the PS3."

I nodded slowly, not entirely understanding their logic, but agreeing anyway. "Because, of course, it's understandable to buy a console just so you can play one particular game." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah." He nodded, but he was grinning at me. "Anything in particular you wanted? Only I thought you were going out with Scarlet?"

My face fell, remembering my fate. "Oh, yeah." I slumped down to sit on the end of his bed, only to realise what I'd just done and sit up straight awkwardly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I absently ran my fingers over the backs of my bare legs. "I uh… well it's gonna be torture, being with her all day while she's all mental over dresses and shoes. I mean I like shoes, but I don't like them in a 'parade around the shop in different shoes 'til my feet bleed' kinda way. I'm gonna try and lure her into some other shops… ones that my dad used to take me to, I cant remember what they're called, but I can look anyway, right?"

He nodded slowly. "You know you could just abandon her and go on your own, or with the others."

I smirked. "Yeah, I prolly will eventually."

He snorted at her abbreviation of the word 'probably'. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well… do you need anything while I'm out? Anything, seriously - as long as it gets me out of Debenhams, I'm fine with it. I'll go from shop to shop to find exactly what you want if I have to."

He looked rather amused. "What types of shops did your dad used to take you to?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was all muggle… tech-y stuff… car parts, and… wires and… uhm…" I clicked my fingers at my side absently, trying to remember what they were called. "Something to do with the word 'drive' but not like a car."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hard drive? Like Motherboards, graphics cards, MSI drives?" he listed a few quickly, and my first thought at the word 'motherboard' was aliens, but didn't voice it.

"Yeah."

He looked at me for a while, before reaching into a draw beside the bed, pulling out a note pad and a pen. He flicked through it to try and find a clean page before ripping it out, throwing the pad across the bed absently as he folded the page over and began to scribble something on it with a ball point pen.

I looked over at the pad as it landed near me and glanced at it without really reading it until my name jumped out at me. I was about to reach for it when Harry grabbed it and threw it back in the draw. His face was slightly pink, and it suddenly crossed my mind that I'd never seen him blush before. He generally never let himself get embarrassed, preferring to laugh it off, on the odd occasion where he did he tended to just rub the back of his neck and avoid eye contact.

"I've been having weird dreams lately… vivid… violent…" he seemed to want to add something else but cut short. "One of the He -ah, Sirius said it might help to write it down, just for me, you know, so I can see if I can get anything from it. He'd give me dreamless sleep potions but you can't let yourself rely on them, and it's lethal in large doses. Never mind the fact that it can't be taken with my new pain relief potion."

I narrowed my eyes at the slip up. I know he's hiding something from me, I just can't figure out what. He's taking pain potions because there is something wrong with him, but neither Sirius nor Remus was willing to tell me… maybe I could get it out of Tonks if I got her drunk…?

"I have weird dreams… like a lot." The image of Harry pushing me into the bed flashed across my mind. "I had this one ages ago - I'd been out clubbing -" he snorted, and I threw my socks at him, which he caught, the twat. "And then on my way out, this... Huge purple frog was chasing me." The corner of his mouth twitched. "And of course his evil ally, the giant white marshmallow." Harry snorted with laughter, leaning back against the pillows again, forgetting about what he was writing. "Was hiding down this ally, ready to pounce-"

"How does a marshmallow pounce?"

"Shut up. So this giant frog was chasing me, then out of nowhere, Scarlet, in these like… 9 inch high heels - I don't even know how she was walking in them, honestly, its not normal… or possible."

"And a giant purple frog and his evil minion the equally giant white marshmallow chasing you after you've been clubbing isn't?" he asked, smirking at me mockingly.

I ignored him. "Her heel gets caught in this grate, and she lets out this real loud theatrical scream, then Ste-"

"Ste?"

"Her boyfriend, Steven."

"Oh."

"Then Ste rides in on this unicorn-" he burst out laughing. "And saves the sorry bitch from being eaten by the marshmallow. Then the giant frog tripped over this… speed bump thing in the road and splatters everywhere. But he tastes like Blueberry jam, so it's okay…" I trailed off, realising how ridiculous the entire thing sounded.

He was still laughing.

"Any others you'd care to share with me?"

I frowned, thinking. "Well… on Wednesday I dreamt I was in a park, on the swings, and I was talking to Ron, because he was there for some reason. Then Adam was sitting on my lap, on the swing, he just jumped up while I was swinging, he does that a lot. And then this guy trying to fly a paraglide off the ground, was running then he stopped because nothing was happening, only for the wind to catch it, and it went up in the air, he smacked his face off the floor… Adam was laughing…" I began counting things off my fingers as they happened, trying to remember why it was classed as a weird dream for me.

"Oh! Then Maffew-"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Maffew?"

"Yeah, Maffew. He drove in on a motorbike, down this hill or something…"

"He 'drove in on a motorbike'." He repeated back to me.

I nodded. "Which was weird, because he doesn't like bikes! Then…Then…"suddenly it hit me why it was weird and I laughed a little. "Then for some reason you were there… and you - " I stopped, remembering who I was talking to.

"Oh, don't stop there - why was I involved?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm not telling you."

"Oh come on, Gin!" he wined. "You had a dream about me; I have a right to know!"

I shook my head more violently than before. "Not a chance." I flashed him a grin, hoping that my face wouldn't colour and give me away.

I grabbed my socks from where he'd dropped them and began to pull them on. They were black, with a little bow on the outside of the leg made from a silky ribbon. I'd pull them up to my knees then put my boots on, and the ribbon would be just above the side, flapping about as I walked. He watched me lace up my right boot, and seemed to give up.

"Fine. But I'll get it out of you eventually." He picked the paper back up again and finished writing it down, he put the paper down next to me, fastening the lid on the pen. "I need a new HDMI cable for the PS3."

I snorted, turning to him. "For that console? The console Sirius bought you three days ago? What the hell did you _do?_"

He flashed me a grin. "You don't wanna know, really." He sat back down, only at the end of the bed, facing the TV; leaning back across the bed and pointing at the thing on the paper. "They're easily found if you go to the right place. You'd be best of going to PC World or Currys, but if you can't get to either of those, there should be a Comet or something near by. Argos might have them actually… Adams muggleborn, right? Ask him, he'll help you find them, if you get really stuck, go to the front desk and someone'll go get it for you."

He pointed at the second thing. "I need a second controller for it too, Tonks has been up here on the 360 with me, and I have two wireless ones for that from when Sirius would be in here with me, but I haven't got the second one for the PS3 yet, Sony SIXAXIS Wireless Controller, if you can. If not the Dual Shock 3'll do, just make sure they're wireless because the cable wont reach from the console over to here. You can definitely get one of those in Game, but if you find one in any of the other shops then just get one there."

I nodded slowly. None of it really made sense, but I figure that if he has it written down I'd be fine. "Anything else?" I asked quietly, lacing up my other boot.

He thought about it for a moment, then tilted his head sideways on the bed. "There's a plastic bag on the side in the kitchen, has a purple bit on it with 'GAME' written in white? There's a game in there for the 360, Fear 2."

"What about it?" I adjusted my ribbon, beginning to buckle them up.

"I need you to take it back and swap it for Anniversary. Tomb Raider I mean, I have Legend and Underworld, but not that one, and Fear's shit so…" he grinned at me. "The receipts in there, you just have to take it to the front and ask them to find the game for you, then exchange it, or, you can go find it yourself, just make sure you get it in the right platform."

I nodded slowly, and he lifted his hips up off the bed, pulling something out of his pocket. He handed me a few 20 pound notes. I shook my head. "And you just randomly carry that amount of money around with you, even though you know you're not going anywhere?"

He shrugged. "I was going to ask you to get me a controller anyway. If that doesn't cover it then I'll pay you back the difference when you get back."

I nodded again, slowly, watching as he reached up behind him head for the controller, and unpaused the game, flicking a button on it with his thumb. I watched for a moment as he made Lara trapeze up across from pillar to pillar, before finally jumping in through a window, a little jingle sounding as he picked up something white, and glowing.

"Artifact." He explained idly, eyes on the screen.

"What time is it?"

He pressed the round button with the green light on it again. "… Twenty past eleven, why?"

I sighed. "Scarlet'll be here in a minute." I went quiet for a moment, then smacked him in the side, not immediately noticing that he'd winced slightly. "What are you doing up this early anyway?"

"I'd have been up even earlier if Tonks had anything to do with it."

"You're so lazy!"

"Not as bad as you, if you had it your way you'd stay in bed all day."

"I would not!" Not all day, anyway.

I stood up, grabbing the paper and shoving his money into my purse with the rest of my muggle money. "I'm going then, I'll see you later… Scarlets coming through and I have to get her ready for tonight." My shoulders slumped. "Then you're rescuing me, understand?" I pointed at him menacingly, and he laughed.

"Sure, Gin." I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Grabbing my bomber jacket and slinging it on on the way out, I had to run back and grab his bag from the kitchen before walking outside to see Scarlet sitting on a wall at the bottom of the steps, Ste was standing in front of her, between her legs. She wasn't wearing a skirt, so there was no chance of her flashing some poor innocent bystander.

I walked down two of the steps, jumping down the last five, before grabbing her arm and pulling her out from under Ste, hooking my arm with hers. Ste caught up quickly to her other side. "How're we getting there then?"

"Portkey."

I frowned. "…Portkey? Aren't those illegal?"

She shrugged. "Daddy got one made up at work for us, here." She pulled out what looked like a tube of lipstick. I touched my finger to the end and seconds later, we were behind a parked car, in a multistory car park.

I swayed a bit, but for once, didn't fall.

"Now where are we?"

"Bolton!" She grabbed my arm, and dragged me through the cars to a hallway, that inevitably led to steps.

"Well I know that, where are we going?"

"To the bus stop to pick up your poxy mates."

* * *

My 'Poxy' mates were early. I was jumped on by Adam Carter (my 'bestest friend in the whole wide world ever', his words, not mine) before I even noticed they were there. Snuck up on me, the twat. "No… NO! Don't you dare!" He ran at me anyway, grabbed me around the middle, squeezed me so tight it hurt, lifted me up off my feet, then backed me up into a wall.

I pulled on his hair. "Ow…"

Scarlet was laughing. He let go of me and stepped back, looking at me as if I was mental. "What the fuck did you do that for, Gin?" he asked, pointing at the wall. "You coulda left a dent in that!" I smacked him across the back as hard as I could. He could be such a child some times. It was hard to believe that he'd just turned fifteen; you'd think that maybe he'd be a little bit more grown up but no…

Matthew Grey and Tony Stanton were grinning behind him. I scowled at them, they were his friends, not mine, and I shouldn't have to deal with there mocking comments. I hooked my arm with Adams. He rolled his eyes. "Now will you tell me were we're going?" I asked, looking at Scarlet over my shoulder.

She shook her head. "Just keep heading forward until I tell you to stop. "

"…Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"You'll see." She was flicking through her iPod to play some music on it while they were walking. It made me glad I was far enough away from her not to hear it.

But of course she had to ruin it by singing.

I sighed, tilting my head to look up at Adam beside me. "So what have you been up to in the week you've been ignoring me?"

He grinned. "Vic's all shacked up with Kane to try and make me jealous. I've been laughing at her all week… My sister had her kid… oh! Did I tell you I'm an uncle?!" he suddenly shouted.

I winced. "Yeah, like fifty times."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah… little shit never stops crying… uhm…" he scrunched up his face for a bit, thinking hard. "I… killed my goldfish."

"Again? What happened this time?"

"…My mum fed it a crumb of her Weight Watchers biscuit and when she came down the next morning it was dead. Prolly choked the fat get." I snorted. He chronically bought goldfish, even despite the fact that they kept dying on him. I told him he should get a puppy; he said that he'd probably kill that too.

"!....bought those red skinny jeans I've been wanting, fell out with Laura, stubbed my toe… got knackered by the police running drunk across the road - you know the one right in front of the police station? Yeah, the bottle of Vodka fell out of Nathans bag and he got done. I nearly cut my thumb off slicing tomatoes, went to a party and got off with Helen-"

I laughed. "No you didn't."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yes I did."

I shook my head at him slowly, raising an eyebrow back. "She's a slag, but not that much of a slag. She has a boyfriend."

"So? …Hey!"

I giggled, and he turned around to walk backwards, nearly knocking an old man over as they crossed paths. "Oi, To-ny!" he shouted over the sound of the crowds, and Scarlet's rendition of Get Up Get Off by The Prodigy ('And I hate when I can't help somebody and I… hate when I ain't got dough and I… hate everyone feelin twista and prodigy rockin' music party music control… You've got to get u-up, If you wanna get off…')

"What?"

"Do you still call him Tony the Tiger?" I asked absently, watching as the dark haired bloke at the bottom of the path waited for Adam to speak.

"Yeah, cause he's 'Guuuu-reat!'"

I scrunched up my nose. "That's still bad, even now."

"Didn't I sleep with Helen the other night!" He shouted, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, what, were you that drunk?"

"Nahh, never mind, mate." He waved and swiveled on his heel, then looked at me with an odd look. "See." He said petulantly.

He was such a child. "Was Tony there with you?" I cooed, mockingly. "Holding you're hand?" I continued, the corner of my mouth twitching. "…Or something else." I spoke in a light tone, and watched as he scrunched up his face in disgust.

"One - That's disgusting, Two - well done, you do listen, and Three - Hermione's right, you shouldn't hang around with us, we've corrupted your innocent little mind." He ran his fingers through my hair, putting an arm around my shoulders. He was grinning again. "What's it been like with you and Potter under the same roof then, all _alone." _He teased.

I groaned mentally, payback time.

I sniffed. "It's been alright actually." I didn't look at him.

I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my head. "So you haven't had a single urge just to grab him, shove him up against the wall and have you're _nawty_ way with him." he'd put on a weird voice, I could hear the amusement in his voice, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't like the way he'd said the word 'naughty'.

"No."

He leered at me. "Oh rly?"

"Don't say that like that!"

"Whuuy?"

"Stop it! What the hell is that supposed to be?"

He cleared his throat. "I's a cwoss between chav an' Chinese… innit?"

I shoved him into a window.

"I cowl it 'chaveese'." He told me, in the same, chav-y, high pitched voice.

* * *

Scarlet had taken us to River Island, which Adam had liked so much he bought some jeans. I told him I could rip up some of his own jeans like that for him if he wanted, rather than spending 45 pounds on those ones, but he was adamant that he wanted the ones he'd chosen. The music they played in there was nice though.

After it was a no joy dress wise there, she dragged me to New Look, where Adam had once again buggered off to god knows where, coming back with what looked like a hoody, and was now mine, because he was sick of me stealing his. Scarlet had found 'the perfect shoes' in the form of neon pink stilettos… I'd made her get the black ones so they'd at the very least match any dress she chose.

After being dragged through JJB Sports by Matthew for some tracksuit bottoms, the chav, and WHSmiths for Tony, who wanted to pick up a book he'd been waiting to come out for a year and a half, we headed to Costa Coffee for a break. Tony was already reading his book at the table, and Scarlet was putting on her new shoes. They looked painful.

Adam, on my right, slumped back in his seat, his tuna melt sitting on his stomach. "So… what did you say was wrong with Harry?"

"I didn't say anything was wrong with him, I said he looked ill, and I didn't want to bring it up."

"Surely if you get Tonks drunk enough she'd spill."

"Yeah… that's what I'd thought." I said quietly, looking to my left, where Tony was avidly reading, already through the first chapter, his Sprite open and in his left hand.

"How is Tonks? I haven't talked to her since she last showed up at Scarlets house, and even then that was only for five minutes to see Mr Copperfield."

I tried to hide my amusement at his name for James. It always sounded weird, because whenever James was around at Headquarters for Order meetings, he was like an awesome uncle who'd tell all these hilarious stories from when he was in school, and then I'd see him at Scarlets house and he was still awesome, but a bit more dadish. He didn't look old enough to have a fifteen year old daughter…

"Tonks is great, she moved into Sirius' house actually. You should come around sometime! Sirius said it was okay, but it's under a Fidelius Charm, so you won't be able to tell you're parents where you're going when you come around…"

Adam laughed, and immediately went into an in-depth discussion of how hilarious it would be trying to get out of his mum throwing one for being back late if he couldn't tell her where he'd been. The three of us sat on one leather sofa, and poor Matthew was stuck beside Steven and Scarlet on the other side of the table. "You thought of anywhere else you want to go, Scarlet?" I asked, trying to pry her attention away from her boyfriend.

It took her a minute or two to realise I'd spoken. "I dunno… Peacocks… though there probably won't be anything in there… I could go to that wedding dress shop down the road! Find a cheep-o simple bridesmaid-y dress!"

"…No."

"…Next? Primark… ahhhh… TK Max…Bay! I have to go to Bay! La Senza…"

"No! Not ever! Not after what you did last time!" I exclaimed.

Even Tony dropped his book to look at me, and I flushed. Adam was grinning like a Cheshire cat, sitting up on his elbows. "What did she do?"

I shook my head quickly. He nudged me. "_Gi-nny_!" he whined.

I looked out the window, raising my nose in the air. "She publicly humiliated me."

Ste snorted. "That's one way of putting it."

I kicked Scarlet under the table. "You told him?!"

"I tell him everything!"

"Yeah, well you can stop telling me everything because I really don't want to know!"

Scarlet brought one leg up on the chair, rubbing her shin. "I'm supposed to tell you everything!"

"Yeah, but not about his bloody glow in the dark-" I stopped short, deciding not to finish my sentence.

Adam was grinning again. "Glow in the dark what, Gin-Gin?"

"You know fine well what, I know he's showed you them."

Matthew looked between the four of us. "This conversation's starting to sound really wrong…"

I ignored him, smacking both Tony and Adam on the thigh with each hand lightly, grabbing my bag as I stood up. "I'm going now, whether you lot like it or not - mock me all you like, I'm going to Game." I stepped over Adams legs, and then, as an after thought, leaned over the table to Ste. "You wanna watch what kind of texts you send her because she shows me all of them after you've gone."

I watched as he paled with an evil grin on my face before turning on my heel and leaving.

* * *

When I finally got to sit down, at 9 that night, I was so knackered that I couldn't even be bothered to get undressed. I'd literally just flopped back onto my bed, thinking I'd relax for a moment only to unexpectedly fall asleep. I next woke up at 7am, and was so wide awake I just had to get up. I usually didn't mind when that happened, but it was usually at a later time.

Tonks, surprisingly, was up when I finally got downstairs. She was sitting half asleep at the kitchen table with a cup of tea cradled in her hands. She looked like hell. I sat down opposite her. She was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot and slightly pink, as if she'd been crying. She was still wearing the clothes I saw her go out in the day before. "Did you even go to bed last night?" I joked.

She looked up at me, and shook her head, not saying a word.

"Merlin, Tonks, what happened?"

She pulled her tea toward her, running her finger around the rim of the mug. "I… I was up all night with Harry."

I felt a horrible pang in my stomach, and my body suddenly seemed to heat up, though my blood had ran cold the moment she'd started speaking. The high I'd been on from the relatively nice day out the day before dropped from me like a ton of bricks. I stayed quiet in the hope that she'd continue, and when she didn't I had to swallow hard first, my mind racing. What could have happened that was so bad that she'd been up all night? "What's wrong with him?"

Her eyes were on the wooden table as she shrugged. "I don't know. Remus and Sirius are away… Dumbledore's… incapacitated… it's just me, and I… I didn't know what to do…" she frowned.

"Tonks." I said firmly. "What happened?"

She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, then shook her head, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes locked with mine. "Harry's… not well, Ginny, you know that, that's why you hardly see him, that's why Ron and Hermione have no idea where he is… He's just… spiraling out of control and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm worried about him, Ginny…" she ran both hands through her dark hair, looking rather distressed.

I didn't want to ask 'what happened?' for the third time running for fear of sounding stupid, but she wasn't making any sense. "Tonks… I don't understand…" I watched her intently as she seemed to breakdown in front of me. I wasn't used to seeing this side of her. She was usually so bouncy and now…

She sniffed. "He was in agony, Ginny. All I could do was sit there and watch the Healers-"

"Healers?" I couldn't help myself.

"When Dumbledore realised that something was really wrong with Harry, he hired some private Healers. A few high class Healers who would work hard to help him, and keep it private, away from the press, and the Ministry. He's…he's changing Ginny. And we can't do anything but watch. I've never felt more helpless in my life."

I just stared at her. 'Changing'? What the hell was that supposed to mean? When I realised that she wasn't going to say anything more, I stood up, and walked away. I half walked, half ran up the stairs, out of breath by the time I hit the top floor.

Harrys bedroom door was wide open, three people in white coats, two men and a woman, were talking in hushed tones in the far corner of the landing. One more person was inside Harry's room, he looked tired, but was writing furiously across a clipboard. His coat was slung over the back of his chair. Harry was asleep, or seemed to be, I couldn't see the movement of his chest as he breathed in and out from where I was. His face was barely visible, but h was paler than I'd ever seen him,, making his lips stand out and he had dark rings under his eyes, which I wasn't surprised by, considering the way he'd gone on about those dreams. I doubt I'd have been able to sleep either.

His hair looked damp, the shine to it was gone, and it didn't seem as messy as was normal for him. He did look very ill. I looked at the Healer in the chair with despair; he hadn't even noticed me enter. "Please." I sad desperately. "Please, can someone tell me what's wrong with him." It wasn't even a question, but it wasn't a demand either.

He looked up at me with wide eyes, as if suddenly realising that I existed, and I could only hope that he'd answer my question.

_

* * *

_

_QAN: And THAT is what I was trying to illustrate here! Ginny has this day that's so much fun, and a bit silly, but then she's brought back to reality horribly, and she's brought into Harry's life fully, which changes her a lot. Well not fully… yet. The last chapter of this section of the story gets to that. The people that Adam mentioned don't matter, they aren't going to show up at all, Tony and Matthew aren't coming back either. Just Scarlet, who's James' daughter, and Adam… just Her friend =] They're both in her year, and in Gryffindor. I'll post chapter 5 later if I can, I have an idea that I need to get out of my head before I can get on with my coursework._

_The song is called **Stripped **by **Shiny Toy Guns**, found it by accident, then found out it was on the soundtrack to my__ favourite__ film, Blood and Chocolate (where I got the title), and… I dunno, just listen to it it's great. _

_Ahh… I figured that while Ginny has muggleborn friends (Steven and Scarlet aren't, Scarlet's a half-blood), she still isn't gonna be wise to most of the finer details of muggle technology, just things that she's picked up from going shopping with them and being at their houses. _


	5. INTERLUDE: New Zealand

__

Disclaimer: I dont own anything but the plot.

_IMPORTANT A/N: If you haven't re-read __the last chapter since i added the changes, please go back and read from at the very least, the second to last divider. I'd read both A/Ns as well. It has a completely different ending, which is really important. Other than that, if you haven't already guessed, this chapter's an interlude, in New Zealand =] Figured I needed to introduce Mary properly... _

_I haven't actually read this all the way through yet, so if it's a bit weirdly put together, as in, it jumps around a lot, then sorreh, I'll read it through after school tomorrow. I'd also recommend listening to Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven while reading this. It sounds like an odd request, but it kinda sets the mood… I dunno, go find it on YouTube and listen to it in the background!_

**

* * *

**

Quote: Rose:

I- .... I love you.

**The Doctor: **Quite right too. _[pause]_ And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it: Rose Tyler...

_[The transmission cuts, and the Doctor fades away from Rose. He stands in the TARDIS, with his mouth open mid-syllable, a tear streaming down his face. He regains his composure, while Rose runs crying into her mother's arms. Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor is slowly walking around the control pannel, flipping switches and pressing buttons as he goes along. The Doctor looks up and sees a woman in a white wedding gown standing with her back to him.]_

**The Doctor:** What? _[The woman turns around] _**Donna Noble:**Wha- **The Doctor:** What? **Donna Noble**: Who're you? **The Doctor:** What? **Donna Noble**: Where am I? **The Doctor**: What? **Donna Noble**: What the hell is this place?! **The Doctor**: What?!

_Yeah…. Cause I'm that awesome… and yes, I did have to have the bit with Doctor Donna in there… just so we're clear xD_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_**Chapter Five: INTERLUDE: New Zealand**_

_*Sirius's POV*_

* * *

Sirius looked up at the large secondary school apprehensively. He dragged his fingers across his face, his heart beating a mile a minute and his breathing erratic. "Ugh…" he groaned, closing his eyes. There wasn't a single student about the school, so he assumed that they must all be in lessons, which, he supposed would make it easier to find her, seeing as she should be in a classroom, rather than milling around the school doing odd jobs.

He took one last deep breath, and steeled himself for the worst, walking up the hill to the front steps, into the school. It took him a few minutes to locate the Reception, though when he did, he was greeted by a tall blonde haired woman. She smiled up at him brightly from beyond the mock glass siding window. "Hello!" she greeted cheerfully. "Need any help?"

Sirius let out a shaky breath. "Ah, yes, actually… I'm uhm… well I'm looking for-" He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Sorry, could you tell me if a Mary MacDonald is working today… I mean… it's a Mary… she's British, has slight welsh lilt, long curly black hair and electric blue eyes… about a head and a half shorter than me." He shook his head, letting out a short, breathy, humourless laugh. "I don't even know if her last names' MacDonald anymore."

The woman behind the desk frowned. "Mary MacDonald? The Head of the English Department?"

His eyes widened. "I – yes, I suppose that should be her."

She pushed back on her swively chair over to another part of the desk to her computer, busily typing on the keyboard as her colleagues bustled about behind her in the medium sized office. "And who might you be?" she asked politely.

"I'm her fiancée, was her fiancée…" He pulled a face, closing his eyes and bracing his hands on the wooden shelf extending from underneath the mock glass panel as his hands began to shake. "I'm –"

"Sirius Black." She supplied, grinning widely.

He opened his eyes. "W- How did you know?"

She gleefully reached into one of the draws under the desk, rummaging around until she pulled out a photo, sliding back over to the window, leaning through it to push it toward him. "This is you, yeah?"

He looked down at the photo. It had been taken outside, in Godrics Hallow, in front of a set of closed large cast iron gates that would lead up to the Potter Estate, just off to the right he could see James and Lilys garden, in front of their own little cottage, number 23. Lily herself was sitting on the floor, cross-legged in front of the gates, leaning back against them, wearing a form fitting bright green dress and flat knee-high biker boots, her heavily pregnant belly jutting out in front of her, cradled between her arms.

James was standing up at her side, also leaning against the gate, but soon walked off to start pacing around the paved courtyard. Marlene was sitting with her legs out in front of her, leaning back on her hands, Remus was following James, trying to comfort him, but he turned to Lily, what he was about to say cut off by the picture looping on itself.

But Sirius remembered just fine. Lily had just gone into labour. She was having a homebirth, for her own safety, after the news with the prophecy, with specialized midwives. But she'd been in labour for 10 hours already, and was no where near ready to actually having to lie down and get prepped, so she had decided she wanted fresh air, and they'd all come by to keep her company, and keep her mind off of it, and make sure James didn't have a heart attack. He had wanted her to go back inside…

He could see himself first standing with his arms wrapped around Mary, who was laughing, only to walk over and plonk himself down on the floor beside Lily, taking her hand cautiously, as she clenched her teeth together, another contraction, though she didn't want to worry James.

He watched it loop back around again a couple of times, then frowned at the blonde haired woman smiling at him. "But this is a muggle school…"

She nodded. "Umhum – but my little sister's muggleborn, she's in her last year at St. Tabitha's out in Australia. It's a boarding school. I've known Mary since she first came here; I live just down the road from her. I helped her out with her teaching courses before she came to work here. Poor little lamb knew next to nothing about our world – I knew the signs immediately… that and I caught her stirring her hot chocolate magically with her finger above it." She pursed her lips wryly.

"She told me all about you. Now you'd better have a very good excuse for leaving her out here on her own for all these years! Because she's two floors down, in room 34, you cant miss it, it's the first one you come to from the library." She paused to find him a map of the school. "Would you like me to get a student to escort you down there?"

He took the map. "Uh, no thanks… I'll be fine…"

So of course it took him an extra ten minutes just to find the ground floor, and once he did, he had to ask a wandering Year 8 which way it was to the Library.

He looked at the numbered doors, counting them down. "28…30…32…" he took in a sharp breath from just out of sight of the door way. It was wide open, so he could clearly hear her voice floating out from inside.

"Yeah, your right. Basically all Shakespeare meant was that she… _or he_, for that matter, was very beautiful." She laughed, _god that laugh…_

He took another deep breath, walking up to the door; he stepped forward, leaning against the door frame. She was meters away from him, writing on the board. And suddenly every pair of eyes but hers were on him. He took a moment to take her in. She looked exactly like when he'd last seen her. More mature, less awkward, but just the same as before.

Her hair was shorter, now trailing along just past her shoulder blades. She still had all the curves, in all the right places, as he could see from the tailored white blouse she was wearing with an A-line black pleated mid-thigh skirt, a thick belt around her waist and bare legs with black, 4 inch stilettos. She pushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand, and he could see the frame of her new looking purple thick-framed rectangular shaped glasses… she'd stopped wearing her contacts…

He pushed his lips together, knocking on the open door frame to get her attention. She glanced up at him for barely a millisecond before holding up her hand, one finger raised in a universal sign for 'one second' as she went back to writing on the board. He grinned.

"Can I ask who you are and what do you need? If it's something in the classroom just go right ahead and get it, just bring it back…"

He smirked. "Mary MacDonald." He said simply, and she frowned at the use of her name, but didn't look up. He pulled a face at how easily her name rolled off his tongue. He ran his tongue across his teeth, as if to find out why it felt so damned weird to say her name. "Odd… you know I think I always think Mary Black had a better ring to it. Prongs said I was a moron, but he could hardly talk, carving the initials JP + LE-P in a snitch under all the classroom tables he ever sat at… _while _she still hated him."

Mary dropped the white board pen to the floor, paling as she looked around, evidently recognizing his voice. Her eyes widened considerably, and she just stared. Didn't move a muscle. He raised his eyebrows. "In your own time, love."

A 17 year old smart arse from the back sat up in his seat. "Is he bothering you Miss? 'Cause we can totally deck him if he is." Said the boy, nudging his mates, who nodded fiercely.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, piss off, like you stand a chance against a fully trained Auror."

It was clear the boys didn't have a clue what he was on about. But it didn't matter anyway, because Mary was suddenly running toward him, her arms flinging around his neck as he lifted her off her feet. "Sirius!" she breathed.

He grinned widely, though it didn't last long, as she stood back and slapped him around the face. Hard. "Sixteen years, Black! Sixteen, fucking years! How could you?!" she accentuated the swearword with a swift kick to the shin, causing his legs to give way slightly, but he gripped onto the doorframe for support.

"Bloody hell, woman – at least let me tell you why it took me so long before you start throwing me around." He gasped, eyes watering.

She folded her arms. "It had better be good."

"Oh it is, believe me."

"Go on then! What are you waiting for?"

"I really don't think that this is the place for this kind of a conversation…"

"Now, or I swear to god, Black, I'll have you on the first flight back to England without me."

His eyes searched hers for a moment, frantically, but upon finding that she was deathly serious, he conceded, leaning heavily on the doorframe, though this time for a different reason. "I was in Azkaban, Mary…" he whispered, refusing to meet her eyes.

Then everything went so quiet, and she fell back onto her desk, sitting on the edge of it, taking off her glasses and dropping her head into her hands. The bell rung shrilly throughout the school, though it sounded so far away.

* * *

Sirius sat back down in the café she'd chosen not to far away from the school, in town, after having taken the rest of the day off, pleading a migraine. He set down the two drinks, cakes, and Panini's on the table, they were, after all, in Costa Coffee, and it was technically her lunch break. She was leaning back in her seat, her make up having been completely removed in the car on the way down there, and her glasses lay folded on the table in front of her, her thick black hair pulled back into a messy bun with a large elastic band she'd found in the glove compartment of the car.

She picked up her espresso, cradling it in both hands as she took a nervous sip from it, leaning back heavily in her chair. Sirius unscrewed the top on his Cherry Coke, pouring it into a glass; he never had cared for hot beverages. "Go on then," she whispered. "Tell me everything."

And he did. Right from when he left her in the house to when he got cleared of all charges in his trial recently. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, her head bowed, forehead collapsed onto her hands. "Oh_… god_." She sobbed. He wanted to comfort her, to hold her, and tell her everything was going to be alright now, but he didn't want to come on to strongly. Their relationship was so fragile right now. They hadn't been together since 1981, and he wasn't going to force her back into that same relationship again. For all he knew, she'd already moved on. She could have a long term boyfriend, or just a regular boyfriend, heck she could have a bleeding love child he didn't know about.

"James and Lily are…" she couldn't finish the sentence, simply cried harder, the tears running down her cheeks in torrents, but she didn't make a sound, for which he was grateful, as people were beginning to stare.

He sighed, and pushed her uneaten bacon and cheese melt in the little paper bag the cakes had came in, and her half picked at double chocolate chip muffin, grabbing his half empty bottle of pop and shoving her glasses in his pocket, he stood, reaching out his hand to her. "Come on." He whispered. "You need some fresh air."

She nodded, taking his hand, leaning onto him heavily as he led the way out, leaning heavily onto him as he led the way out onto a busy street, off to the car. They just sat for a few moments as he sat in the drivers' seat, placing the food on the back seat, and his drink in the drinks holder. He handed her a napkin, and she thankfully took it, wiping her eyes. "I'm so sorry, about what happened to you… I'm almost sorry I slapped you." She laughed half heartedly.

He smiled. "I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark for so long… It must have been horrible not knowing anything…"

She nodded. "Yes," she sniffed. "But I know everything now don't I? So I can start to get over it." Her voice wavered slightly. "I mean… deep down I knew they must be dead… I thought you would have been too… other wise why would you have not came after me like you promised?"

She shrugged, looking over at him. "I got so frustrated that I even got all the way to the head of the DOM, requesting a sit in with Marissa Shawbanks, who runs the personnel files down there over here. I knew that they'd have a way of getting information about British Ministry Officials through the connections running through every MOM in the world. I chickened out in the end. It was a combination of not wanting to know and… well I made a promise that I'd never look back, right?"

He sighed, starting up the engine, hands on the wheel. "Where to, then?"

* * *

Walking into the house he'd sent Mary to all those years ago was surreal. And he quickly decided that he didn't like it, not in the slightest. The last time that they'd been here it had been a holiday for him and his friends, not the house he'd sent his fiancée to as his dying wish. He pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back against the wall in the living room, closing his eyes against the panoramic scenery that was being flaunted at him through the glass wall looking out over the lake.

Busy admiring the house, he didn't notice as a large dog came barreling in. Mary cooed almost immediately, letting the dog skip and bound over to her, tail wagging, whining with anticipation. He bounced around a bit, rubbing along her legs like a cat. She ruffled the fur on his head quickly then walked away.

She dropped her keys onto the kitchen counter with her bag and walked to the fridge, grabbing a couple of bottles of J2o and popping them open. She handed it to him in passing and dropped down onto one of the large sofas that sat at an angle, half looking out the glass wall and half looking at the wall set telly.

The dog ran over to him as she disappeared into the living room. He could see her clearly as it was open plan, but the dog seemed more interested in Sirius than anything. Dropping down to a crouch, the dog half licked him to death while he tried to put the bottle on the floor to stroke him. It was only a small dog really, in hindsight. For a Rottweiler anyway. He couldn't have been more than a year old, about half the size he was going to be, strong back legs, and a long tail that had a ginger stripe down the underside.

"That's Zeus." She called. "He's only eight months old, got him from the shelter when he was 12 weeksold. I wasn't going to get a dog like him, maybe an English Springer Spaniel or something, but he looked so vulnerable. He was just sitting in the corner of the kennel shaking. I couldn't leave him. Apparently the owner died in his house, and no one realised until they noticed that he hadn't taken the dogs out in a few days…"

Sirius pulled a face, looking down at the panting dog, who was now comfortably lying on it's back between his legs. "He was on his own in that house for a few days, so he's a bit timid, and he didn't like being left on his own for a while. I felt terrible leaving him on his own down here every night because he'd look up at me with those big brown eyes and just stand there… got used to it now though - so's he. He knows I'll always come back to him in the morning, and after work."

He scratched his belly for a moment before standing up and half running into the living room, grinning as the puppy's clumsy paws skidded across the marble floor, leaping after him. He passed the grand piano on the way, running his fingers across the exposed white keys, resisting the urge to push one down.

She took a quick drink of her J2o before dropping it onto the coffee table, settling in her seat to take off her stilettos, where she let them slip through her fingers to the floor. She rubbed the balls of her feet with a small frown, untucking her blouse from her shirt. She hissed as she hit a sore spot, and he quickly walked over to sit at the end of the sofa.

He gave a slightly awkward pause. "I uh… I can… if you want?" he finished gesturing to her feet unhelpfully.

She bit her bottom lip, obviously unsure of how this situation would end.

He smiled. "Come on, I'll work your feet and you can lie back and ask me all those questions I know that you're dying to ask."

She sighed, nodding, for a moment unsure what to do with her legs when he gently took her ankle, and pulled her foot into his lap, taking the inner arch of her petite foot in both hands, slowly making small but firm circular movements with his thumbs into the ball of her foot. He glanced up at her. "Go on, get comfortable, as away before I can't bring myself to answer any more."

She seemed reluctant to lie across the sofa, but did so anyway, carefully adjusting herself into a respectable position before turning to look out of the window. "So that's it then. They're all gone." She whispered.

Zeus lay down across the floor by the sofa, on Sirius' feet, and he smiled briefly down at him.

He worked his way down the sole of her foot, deciding not to remember the last time they'd done this. "Not exactly. Moony's fine. He's back home actually. Lusting after my cousin Nymphadora, but he won't do anything about it."

A small smile graced her face, a short humming laugh releasing from behind her closed lips. "I'm glad he's happy."

He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, actually the two of us have been under a lot of pressure lately… my uh, godson recently found out he's mutating into a vampire… he's taking it well… but we're not."

She nodded slowly, and then slowly came to realize what he could mean. "Your godson? Harry? He's Alive!" She sat up suddenly, her foot flying out of his lap. The expression on his face gave her all the information she needed. "James was right then? He's a…"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat again. "But ah… well there's nothing we can do to slow the process enough to save him… so we've been making him as comfortable as possible, even at everyone else's expenses. He's cold all the time, so we have to keep the heat up all the time, it's like a furnace. He's almost constantly in pain, so we have Healers on stand by to sedate him…"

Her eyes were wide. "You... you have to tell me about him. What's he like? What does he look like?"

"He's… he's the spit of James, only with Lily's eyes. Same height, same build, same complexion, same bloody hair, everything. You should see him Mary." He trailed off, taking her foot once again and picking up where he left off. She piled some pillows up behind her so she could sit up comfortably, ready to listen. "He has James' dead pan humor, and Lily's sense of mind. He's very bright, and he's the youngest Quidditch player in a century, seeker by his first year at school. He has their bravery, and James' move now think later out- look on life. He seems to have a 'saving people thing'; he'd do anything for those he cares for, he has a good set of friends, tends to jump to stupid conclusions and-" he paused, giving a small laugh. "And I recently figured that he's got James' fixation with red heads."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

He leaned forward. "You remember Molly and Arthur Weasleys youngest, the first girl to be born to the Weasley clan in centuries?"

"Yeah, it was in the papers – Ginevra Weasley."

He grinned. "Yeah, I found them talking together the night before I left in the drawing room, I didn't even know she knew he was in the house."

She giggled. "Not exactly the worst thing in the world, though is it? I mean he's 16, I remember what you were like when you were 16."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah well Harrys nothing like me. He really likes her, Mary…"

"So they're together?"

"No…"

She snorted. "Yeah, I can see exactly how he 'really likes her'."

"No! They're friends. Remus and I are waiting on it."

"Don't be taking bets on their love life, it's not fair."

"Yeah, you say that, but you haven't seen the way they are around each other. I'm waiting for the fireworks to go off."

She wiggled back against the pillows. "I bet you are."

* * *

Sirius grunted softly as he dragged himself out of bed in the spare room, running his fingers though his hair. It was two am. He groaned to himself, pottering out of the room to go to the bathroom.

It wasn't until he was a few feet past Mary's door that he had to do a double take. Was that Mary? Walking back toward where her room was, he stopped outside her door. She was sitting in bed with Zeus, cross-legged with the dog lying across them, running her fingers through his fur. His forehead wrinkled up as he looked over at Sirius, walking into the room.

"Mary..."

She sniffed, not looking up at him, wiping her fingers under her eyes. "It's 2 in the morning, Sirius."

"Exactly, what are you doing?"

She didn't reply, so he walked right into the room and sat on the end of the bed. "Shift Zeus." He patted the dog on the backside, and he jumped off the bed, causing the mattress to bounce.

With nothing occupying her hands, she pushed her hair behind her ear and dropped them into her lap, looking down. Sighing, he stood and sat at her feet, taking hold of her chin, forcing her to look up. "Mary, you need to stop beating yourself up over this. I know it's a lot to take in, and I'm sorry that I had to randomly come and spring this on you, but I know you, and you had the right to know, no matter how terrified I was to come and face you after all this time."

Her eyes flicked up to meet his. "You were scared to come and see me?" she whispered.

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. You are pretty scary, Mary."

She scoffed. "It's not that I'm upset about that, I mean, obviously I am, but deep down I knew that that was what had happened, I told you that. I just... I want to go back to England, to see Remus, and Harry after all this time, but I have a life here! I have friends, and a job that I've put so much of my life into. I can't just up and leave because you're here."

He dropped his hand from her face, and nodded. "I know. I don't expect you too. But I can't stay here for long, waiting, because Harry needs me right now, and I came here instead. He doesn't even know that we were ever... I told him that you're a friend of mine."

There was a long bout of silence, in which the rain thundering down on the sky light became very prominent. "You didn't tell him we were engaged?" She asked quietly.

She was fiddling with her ring finger, and he couldn't help but notice that the ring wasn't there. He ignored the ache in his chest that accompanied the revelation, and looked up at her to see her watching him carefully. "No, I didn't tell him. I didn't want to... I mean I could have come out here and found you married... you could have had kids that I didn't know about. What was the point in dragging it up if it was never going to mean anything to him?"

She pursed her lips and went quiet for a while. "I never took it off." She said, pulling at a chain around her neck, pulling it out from her top to show him the diamond ring attached to it. "I couldn't part with it, even as the time went by. Eventually Joanne, the woman at reception you met, convinced me to put it on a chain so that I could at least try and move on." She gave a nervous smile.

He reached out to take hold of the ring, and there was a low rumble of thunder. Zeus came running in, tail down from the usual curl and his ears back. He stopped for a moment, shaking, then there was another, louder roll of thunder, and he jumped on the bed in between them, whining. Sirius hand dropped, and Mary let out a small laugh. "It's like having a kid."

Sirius didn't say anything for a moment, standing up awkwardly. "I should go to bed..." His hand was in his hair. "You too. I mean you should go to sleep, as well... it's late."

She nodded, smirking slightly at how awkward he was being, watching as he turned and left, walking one way back to his room. There was a short silence in which his door closed, then opened again, as he walked back across the hall past the door towards the bathroom, where he'd originally intended on going. The smirk turned into a grin of amusement as he refused to look her in the eye when he passed the door.

* * *

He'd been there for five days and it was already beyond awkward. They had no idea what to do around each other. On the one hand, they'd been friends once, and they miss each other, but on the other, they'd been engaged the last time they'd seen each other and they _missed _each other.

She was at work right now though, so he didn't have to deal with her. It wasn't that he didn't like being around her, it was just difficult to look at her. The pain at the recent news of her friend's death was clear on her face with every glance, and he couldn't stand it.

Zeus had just gone through his tea, and was now chewing on a bone in the kitchen, the grinding noise of his sharp teeth against the bone doing Sirius' head in. He wasn't sure if it was due to the annoyance of the dogs' noises, or the sheer boredom that came with being alone in this house all day, but Sirius finally gave into the temptation of the grand piano sitting in the corner of the living room.

Sitting on the stool, he ran his fingers over the keys. He wasn't even entirely sure why it was still here. Mary had completely redecorated the house as it was, everything was furnished differently, and yet the piano remained. She couldn't play it, so it really didn't make any sense. Unless it was there for sentimental value.

He'd played it quite often the last time he'd been here. Heck that'd been the last time he'd played full stop. They'd been 20 at the time, on holiday with Lily, James, Remus and Marlene, Lily was 4 months into her pregnancy, and he and James had just gotten back from a long mission, having been Aurors at the time. They'd really needed a break.

It had been such a long time since he'd played that it took a while to get back into it, but it really didn't matter, because just the gentle sound of the notes flowing together was enough. It had always helped him relax before, and now was no different. It helped him put everything that was going on with Harry, and Mary, and the distress and hurt that came with it fly to the back of his mind as he concentrated on hitting the right notes.

He didn't notice when Mary came through the front door, back from work at half past four, too engrossed in what he was playing. She couldn't help but grin, sneaking into the living room and leaning against the large open archway from the kitchen to the living room, the piece in the middle a hallway, one way was the stairs to the next floor and the other lead into the study.

She folded her arms, watching as his dark hair fell over his face as he concentrated. As his fingers danced across the keys with practiced precision, she slid down the wall and sat cross legged on the floor, leaning back against the wall behind her quietly so she didn't disturb him, letting the music wash away her, washing away her inhibitions.

* * *

It was Saturday, her day off, so they were stuck with each other all day. She hadn't decided if she wanted to go back to England yet, and as he'd already made it very clear that he was never going to leave Harry to stay here, it seemed ridiculously trivial to wait so long to find out whether he was going home alone or not.

Zeus was lying on his back again, his front paws crossed over one another at his chest and his bag legs wide open. His tongue was lolling out of his mouth. Sirius couldn't help thinking that he looked rather like a bat from that angle. "You freak." He chided, rubbing the dogs chest, knocking its paws apart. He twisted his body to a curve, his tail flicking across the wooden floor.

Sirius rolled his eyes, flicking it with his toe and watching as the dog eyed it for a moment before trying to twist his body sideways even further from his position on his back to try and grab his tail. He tried and failed. Repeatedly.

Mary was in with breakfast by the time Zeus had given up, standing and chasing after it in circles, snapping his teeth wanly. She scoffed, placing the bacon butty on the coffee table along with some orange juice, as requested. Rain was thundering down on the large glass panels ahead, and on the sky light up on the balcony behind them. It'd been doing this since 5am, and the sound of water thudding on the many windows in this house as if been thrown by a bucket was either soothing or annoying. Sadly for Sirius, it went from one to the other before he had the chance to go back to sleep.

He almost choked on his sandwich as Zeus stopped, seemingly watching the rain outside. His tail stilled, and then he randomly turned and pounced at something behind him. Of course he didn't get it, and skidded spectacularly across the floor. He laughed loudly. "You're dogs really fucking weird."

She scowled. "He isn't!"

"Oh come on, he just tried to take his own tail by surprise! And he lies on his back funny…" He looked back over at the dog in question, who was lying on his front, curled around with the little tuft of hair at the end of his tail clamped between his sharp teeth. Sirius felt the need to cheer, but suppressed it. "I don't think you're allowed normal pets." He said.

"That cat you had in first year liked to eat dog biscuits, and waited at the bars at the top of the stairwell and jump on your head when you walked up… not to hurt you _- no_, he wanted to have a little sleep there. And the dog you're parents got when you moved in with me was tiny! Fun sized Mars bar sized dog, and it -" He stopped short when he saw the expression on her face.

She dropped her half eaten sandwich onto the plate, and walked away into the kitchen with it. "I should let Zeus out; he hasn't been out since 7 this morning…" She grabbed a large coat, and some wellies, shoving them on before whistling for the Rottweiler to follow her, pushing open the back door.

Mary disappeared out after the dog as he ran right past her into the pouring rain. He stood and walked into the kitchen, leaning on the counter under the window facing the only fenced part of the garden to watch as she crossed her arms over her sheet and wandered out to stand by a metal greenhouse, leaning against the frame as Zeus just stood there with his legs square, and his ears back getting wet.

She had her head forward, and he couldn't see her face. He was happy just to watch her until the wind flew her hood back before she could stop it and he caught the expression on her face.

"Oh… fucking hell." He mumbled, throwing himself back from the counter. Shoving his boots on, not bothering to lace them up, he walked out into the rain.

He stomped his foot near Zeus as he passed him, smirking with amusement as the dog shot off like a rocket through the rain. Mary looked up at him as he walked toward her and he could clearly see the pinkness in her cheeks as her face heated up. She shoved her palms into her cheekbones as if to wipe the rain drops on her face away.

He stopped in front of her, his hands on either side of her neck. Brushing his thumbs across her jaw and tilting her head back slightly her eyes connected with his briefly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned them." He mumbled, feeling his hair sticking firm across his forehead. She sniffed. "I didn't think. You're still trying to wrap your head around all this, after being away from the wizarding world for so long, me being here is just bringing it all back and that can't be doing any good… I should leave you here, in peace, to think on it. Harry needs me with him more than you need me here. I'm just in the way, and that can't be helping you at all."

He paused, watching as her makeup smudged slightly under the sheer amount of water, washing away. "I'm going to go home, let you adjust - then if you want, you can floo or something… when you're ready. I know you want to see Harry, if you can."

She shook her head. "No, I-"

He grinned. "It's okay. I didn't expect you to just jump back into my arms after all this time. It's just making everything awkward, and I don't want to get in between you, Harry and Remus. To be honest I probably should have left after I told you everything, let it sink in, but you looked so vulnerable…"

She closed her eyes. "I need you here with me." She whispered, dropping her head down. "I… I spent the past 15 years of my life waiting for you… hoping that you'd just show up one day out of the blue. I used to _dream _that one day you'd show up on my doorstep… and just…" she clenched and unclenched her fists unhelpfully, pushing her hands into his shoulders. He could hear by the tone of her voice that she was crying when she next opened her mouth even despite being unable to see them through the rain.

She clutched his shoulders, her fingers digging into his skin. "I've waited too long for you to go now, or give up on me." She looked back up at him again. "I've _missed_ you, okay?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Of course you did." He said matter of factly.

She scowled at him, shoving him away from her. "I'm trying to be serious here! Of all of the traits you could have lost, you had to keep the one that makes you compulsively -" but he kissed her before she could get properly fired up.

Mostly to shut her up.

A comforting feeling washed through him, like he was home again. It didn't last long, but the solidarity of his lips against hers seemed to extinguish whatever anger that had flared up inside her. Her eyes were still closed as he pulled back, searching for some sign that this was _okay._

…And that she wasn't going to hit him.

She opened her eyes and smiled, wrapping her arms around his chest. She'd have been worried about coat wetting his shirt, but he was drenched through from the rain. "Don't look so worried." She said, feeling him relax, and tighten his arms around her as she dropped her forehead on his damp chest. He rested his chin on the crown of her head, watching as Zeus scampered across the sopping grass behind her, stopping with his bum in the air to look at the before barking and bounding off in the opposite direction, obviously haven taken Sirius' stomp to get the bugger moving before as an invitation to play.

As the fact that he was very, very wet, and only getting wetter began to sink into his brain, a random thought popped into his head that he found himself incapable of surprising. "…Did you sleep with anyone else after me?"

Deciding not to dignify that with an answer, she made a noise that seemed a cross between annoyance and amusement shoving him back and shaking his head as she waded back to the kitchen, her wellies squelching through the mud and overturned grass along the way. He pursed his lips. "That had better be a no!" he called.

She didn't reply.

"…Mary?"

The dog shot past him, paws thudding heavily on the ground, and he ran after him, grabbing him around the middle to carry him inside. Mary's boots where on the kitchen floor, and her coat on the dining table. There were little wet foot prints leading the way upstairs with a trail of drenched clothes.

He took a deep breath, putting the dog on his feet and locking the door. He was half afraid to go upstairs to get dry.

_

* * *

__A/N: Sirius was playing Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, it's a beautiful song, and it really set the scene for this chapter, so look it up on YouTube if you have the time and listen to the first 30 seconds or so… or from 2 minutes in… or 3:15… even if you don't like that kind of music, because I don't like classical music, I'm a metal head, and yet that song got through - it helps me relax =] Just 30 seconds from one of those points!_

_Zeus was spawned from the fact that I currently have a Rottweiler, who's really smart, but also really weird, which is who he's based off of, but I stole his name from one of my grans old Dobermans (she had a bitch called Sirius, which I find quite funny). He was a properly timid dog, and he'd just lie in the kitchen whenever I stopped over there, me and my nan'd be making minni sausage rolls or something, I'd be like 3, and my Uncle (who's completely freaking awesome btw), who'd have been about 19 at the time, would come down, and 'help' me. He'd make weird shapes with the pastry and then go 'should we make Zeus look like a skunk?' and I'd go 'YEAH!' and we'd pour flour down the dogs back… I was crying with laughter when my uncle reminded me of it the other day. _

_I apologize if this chapter seems a bit disjointed; there was a lot to get into one chapter so… yeah. I just hope I got their feelings and thought processes across. _

_Also, Wellies, if you don't know what they are, are Wellington Boots. Or you may call them rain boots… I dunno. I've asked three people (two of them were American) if they knew what wellies are, and they had no idea, which I think is hilarious, but there you go, you've learned something new if you were confused. _

_Next Chapter's back to Harry and Ginny, promise - and it'll be posted on Friday with any luck._


	6. Stories

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

_A/N: Back to Harry and Ginny now =] ...Uhm... Yeah, I'm putting this up here as well incase some people only read one note... I need a new Beta for this fic, I'm not going to go into __what happened with the previous, she's just a little busy right now, so I've taken this story off her hands so she only has the one to think about. Eitherway, if you're interested, PM me or something and let me know =]

* * *

_

Quote:

_I push my fingers into my eyes...  
It's the only thing that slowly stops the ache...  
But it's made of all the things I have to take...  
Jesus, it never ends, it works it's way inside...  
If the pain goes on...  
Aaaaaaaah!_

I have screamed until my veins collapsed  
I've waited as my time's elapsed  
Now, all I do is live with so much hate  
I've wished for this, I've bitched at that  
I've left behind this little fact:  
You cannot kill what you did not create

_**Slipknot - Duality**. It's my mates favourite Slipknot song, says its the best, but I don't believe him - Pulse of the Maggot's my favourite song by them, but it doesn't quite fit... beginning of the song's epic though xD_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

**_Chapter 6: Stories_**

_*Harry's POV*_

* * *

When I first woke up it took me a few moments to realise where I was, and why I couldn't see anything. The curtains were closed shut, not a whisper of light getting through, the lamps were off, the only bright thing in the room was the electric blue glow emanating from the main speaker by the TV, casting an odd shape across the ceiling. Sitting up slightly, I could barely move, restrained by the sheer amount of blankets weighing me down.

Not that I'd want to move, I realised, dropping back onto the pillows with a groan as a pain akin to a dozen knives stabbing me in the back shot down my spine. Breathing heavily, I forced myself to sit up and turned on the nearest lamp, grabbing the potion waiting on the bedside table. There was a note underneath it, Remus' handwriting scrawled across the front 'Harry'.

Downing the potion in one gulp and swallowing hard, hoping to god it didn't decide to want to come back up, I flipped open the note.

_Harry,_

_Dumbledore called me back to come and see you after what happened, but you were out for the entire three days that I was here and I had to go back. I've talked to Sirius though, and he'll be back before I am. He's bringing Mary with him, so you'll finally get to meet her. James said that Ginny was asking after you, you might want to think about either explaining everything to her, or making up a convincing lie because she's not stupid Harry, and she's not messing around._

_She's worried about you. I'm sure she can cope with the truth if you give her half a chance. You're going to have to tell you're friends eventually, at least start off small._

_They weren't sure when you're going to wake up, but you stopped breathing for a few hours on the second day that I was there and they're starting to get a bit apprehensive as to how long you're going to last. I know you're in a lot of pain, and I can definitely relate to that, but you have to stick through it. It's almost over know. Susan figures you're a week or so away from full magical maturation._

_I'll see you when I get back,_

_Remus_

I folded it back over and dropped it back onto the bedside table. Ginny had been asking after me. I wasn't entirely sure what to think of that. Grabbing my iPod from where I'd left it under the pillows, I checked the date.

27th of July... 3am. That's... nearly a week. Bugger... Running my fingers through my hair, I slid down under the covers, flinging off anything that wasn't the base blanket and turning off the lamp. I flicked though random songs until I found the right one and bent my legs slightly, crossing my arms.

I'd been awake for less than five minutes before Ginny showed up in the doorway, trying to be quiet, though the concept was lost on my sensitive hearing. She turned and saw that I was awake. Her face broke out into a massive smile.

"You're awake!" She stood there in the door for a moment, unsure of what to do, then made an unhelpful gesture with her hands, pointing over her shoulder with her mouth open, but no sound came out. "I... I can uh... go get Tonks if you want. She told me to wake her when you wake up."

I shook my head slowly, and she stood there for a moment, before her back when straight, and she walked around the side of the bed, crawling into the middle. Unsure of what she was planning on doing, I moved to sit up again, the pain still ebbing with the potion finally kicking in. The moment that I'd uncrossed my arms, she did something that I couldn't have anticipated. She moved so she was lying half on top of me, her back into my chest, and her legs bent either side of mine, took one of my arms and put it on her stomach, stole an earphone and pulled my iPod from between my fingers. She wiggled a bit, getting comfortable.

"Are you quite satisfied?" I asked, tightening my arm around her waist to pull her up slightly. Her overlarge t-shirt slid up above her bellybutton.

She either didn't notice, or didn't care. "Uh-huh." I had the left headphone, and the wire went across her chest to her right ear, where she'd placed the other. She was flicking through the playlists. "How are you feeling? That Healer said you nearly died." I could tell she was trying to keep the conversation light, but I heard her voice waver at the word 'died' and I suddenly understood her sudden boldness.

"I feel fine, Gin. He was over exaggerating."

She snorted, pressing play on the song I'd paused when she came in. She almost jumped out of her skin as the words suddenly blasted into her eardrums. She scrunched up her nose.

"How can you listen to this?"

I didn't bother trying to shrug, putting my hands over hers to change the music. She moved her thumbs out of the way and let me control it. Her hands seemed to heat up beneath mine. She didn't seem to notice the slight pause between me pressing play and my hands dropping down from hers. I tilted my head slightly so that my chin rested on her shoulder. "Better?"

She hummed in response, still flicking through everything else she could find her way into in the iPod in her hands. She was quiet for a long time after that, and I let my head drop back, closing my eyes. There was a small thump as both of her hands dropped onto her stomach and she began to laugh.

I opened one eye. "What?"

"I know this song!" Her voice was slightly high with hilarity.

_'Stop making the eyes at me, I'll stop making the eyes at you, and what it is that surprises me is that I don't really want you to. And your shoulders are frozen (cold as the night). Oh, but you're an explosion (you're dynamite). Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand, and lighting the fuse might result in a bang, b-b-bang, go!'_

She was giggling to herself as she adjusted her legs, knocking mine slightly. "It's one of Adams favourite songs - you should see what he did last time he heard it, it was really funny, honestly." She was mouthing the lyrics idly as she continued to flick through the audiobooks.

_'I bet that you look good on the dance floor, I don't know if you're looking for romance or I don't know what you're looking for. I said, I bet that you look good on the dance floor. Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984 - from 1984!'_

"You're an odd one, Ginny Weasley."

She started laughing again, and to be honest, I wouldn't have minded if she didn't stop laughing from here onwards.

* * *

I was mildly surprised that I managed to sleep at all last night considering the amount of time I was out cold for. It was only a few hours, but still something. Ginny was still asleep. She'd rolled off of me at some point in the night, still on top of the covers, one legs between both of mine and her arm draped across my chest. I'd had to untangle the headphones from both of us when I'd woken up.

She was still asleep 3 hours after that, which hadn't been that bad, it'd given me some time to think about what I was going to tell her. She wasn't going to let it drop, I knew that much, and I would have to have a pretty damned good explanation to keep her busy with.

She rolled onto her back, and opened her eyes a little bit. She yawned, and stretched out across the bed. "Morn'in." She half gasped.

"Morning, Gin." She smiled a little, glancing over at the TV through the darkness to see the early morning tv shows playing.

She snorted, grabbing a fistful of the duvet cover. "You're duvet says 'bed' on it." I watched as her eyes slid over the blanket, looking at the lines of the same word repeated in black over the blue sheet.

"The pillows say pillow as well." I said, pulling one out from above her and dropping it onto her. She bent her knees and hugged it to her chest, pulling it under her chin.

"How are you feeling then?"

I sighed. "I'm fine, Ginny."

She looked up at me with an annoyed expression on her face. "The Healer said that he couldn't tell me what was wrong with you because it was 'classified' which means the Orders keeping it a secret - which means it's BAD, Harry. What's wrong with you? Why are you hot, and cold, and in pain all the time - why did Sirius hide you up here, then have me stay with you to keep you company?"

"He asked you to stay behind because you were the only one of my friends who knew I was in this house, you know that."

"That doesn't answer my question Harry." She dropped her head to the side properly, so she wasn't straining her neck to see me.

I hesitated. "It's a long story."

"I don't have to be anywhere, Scarlet and Adam can amuse themselves." She said stubbornly.

"They're here?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

She glared at me. "Harry."

"Fine..." I tried frantically to find a decent way to go about explaining it to her. Why couldn't Sirius have done this before he left? "How much did you hear that day you came to come and get Sirius for dinner?"

"Something about this story you're family used to pass down through the generations." She laughed a little. "Something to do with bloodlines and ancestors..."

I gave her a pleading look. "Think about what you heard, Gin, really think about it."

She went quiet. "I don't...Harry I wasn't really listening, I can't even remember what the story was based around."

I flicked the remote control up in the air and clenched my teeth, catching it, careful not to crush it. I sighed once again, and looked away from her, toward the door, willing for Tonks or one of Ginnys' friends to come running in.

They didn't.

"I have a relative, on my dads side, who was born in the early 1800's. And he was bitten by a Vampire when he was seven."

"So? What's that got to do with anything?" She raised her eyebrows at me, sitting up against the wall beside me, still hugging the pillow.

"_Well,_ he fell in love with a muggle. And they had a son. Unlike with werewolves, Vampirism is hereditary, it's passed on through the generations. But, like all genes, some can be dropped. Like... you're brothers, your mum and dad, and their immediate relatives - they're all left handed, you told me ages ago that it was really weird, because you're right handed. It had to have come from somewhere, and at some point, someone would have been right handed like you."

She scrunched up her face. "Harry, just get to the point."

"I am. He married a muggle, and sometimes, that can lead to any offspring being without magic, and it would be perfectly normal, only with Lexious, my grandfather, his son was born human. It's never been heard of before. It's not supposed to happen, he should have been a half vampire, but he wasn't. They figured that if the same environment as before was created again, a pureblood with the gene, and someone with muggle blood running through their veins, then it could be brought out again. So they told these stories, about keeping the bloodline pure, not marrying into anything less than half-blood because if they didn't there was every chance that the gene could resurface. You with me so far?"

She nodded. "Vampire grandfather, has a kid with a muggle, the kids human, possibility of muggle blood triggering the gene, the stories about keeping the bloodline pure." She said in short sentences, quickly, curling up to face me.

"Right. Only... my dad never paid them any attention, and then he fell in love with my mum, and completely forgot about it." I stopped talking for a moment, willing for her to understand so I didn't have to spell it out for her.

"And...?" She prompted.

"...And my mum's muggleborn."

She went quiet for a long time, frozen, her eyes on the bed. "But you..." She looked up at me with both frightened and confused eyes. "I've known you for what? 5 years? You're not a vampire, Harry." She let out a short laugh, shaking her head, trying not to look at me.

"Gin, my mum was a very talented witch. She used to create spells, down in the Department of Mysteries. She worked on a spell for the longest time, trying to delay how long it would take for me to change. She wanted me to have a normal life, if even for a little while. And she succeeded. Only... because it's been left for so long, and it suddenly triggered out of the blue, we don't know what did it, but something did, and with the combination of the two, my body went into shock, and... it's changing rapidly. There's nothing I can do other than wait it out - then I _will _be a Vampire, Gin."

She stood up, throwing the pillow on the bed. "No, that's not -" Her jaw set. "You can't be, that's not fair!"

"I'm sorry, Gin, but it's-"

"Don't apologise." she spat, though her face fell for a moment when she realised how horrible it had sounded coming out of her mouth and she looked about to walk forward for a moment, before stopping mid step, and hugging her arms around her stomach. "I... I need some fresh air." She swallowed hard, looking a little green. "I just need to think, okay? I'm not... I'm not leaving you, or horrified by what you are, and I'm certainly not afraid of you, so whatever's going through you're head right now, stop it. I just need some time to let it sink in."

All I could do was nod. She nodded back stiffly, before walking out of the room.

* * *

_A/N: Friday, as promised. Though it is only short, and catered to one point... It kinda made me cringe when he was explaining stuff, and I dont know why... Chapter 7 will be out this time next week, early on, if I can manage it (Also super long, because it has two birthdays in it, and kinda covers a whole week) and will be called Shatter, I think, if that gives you any hint at all as to what it entails. There are only about... three more chapters in this part of the story (I'm pretty sure you can figure out what the climax of that is). The song was called **I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor **by **The Arctic Monkeys.**_

_On another, slightly weirder note, I need a new beta for this fic, so if anyone's interested, then please let me know. Though I do need the chapters back pretty quickly, as in, I'd rather not have to wait longer than a week to get things back. My mates standing in for know as beta, so this chapter shouldn't have had too many mistakes..._


	7. Shatter

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

_A/N: I wanna give a special Fank You to all of you awesome reviewers cause they're all so nice =] Not that the ones for previous chapters weren't, I just thought it was pretty cool to wake up to 11 odd reviews in my inbox. Anyway - Chapter 7 ---_

_Quote:__ [Gwen and Carys are kissing passionately in Carys' cell, while Owen watches.]_

**Owen:** Happy birthday me. Oi, you lot,_ treat!_

_[Jack and Tosh come over to see]_

**Tosh:** Wow.

**Jack:** Wow.

**Owen:** You said she had a boyfriend.

**Jack:** You people and your quaint little categories.

**Tosh:** We should really get her out of there...

**Jack:** Yeah... (pauses) I mean- yeah! Come on!

_[Jack leaves to the cells with Tosh]_

**Owen:** I'll just... record a bit of this.

Series 1 Episode 2, **Torchwood**. Haha =D Now I watched that episode with my parents… don't do that… ever. Watching a guy shag a girl in the bathroom of a club then get vaporized while she soaks up the orgasmic energy with you're mum and dad sitting next to you? Epic Fail.

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

Chapter Seven: Shatter

_*Ginny's POV*_

* * *

Standing out in the rain was relaxing, and for once I cheered for the predictability of British weather, even in the summer. Wet and cold. Lovely! I let the cold air sting at my bare flesh, not at all regretting my decision to forego the coat. I tried to take a deep breath, but my lungs just didn't seem to have the capacity, the same questions whirling around in my head.

Why hadn't he told me sooner? Why was he so damned calm about the whole thing? …Was he going to be okay?

My chest suddenly felt really tight, and I could feel my breathing hitch in my throat with every breath. Absently rubbing the tips of my fingers against the underside of my ribs as the pain doubled, I began to pace up and down outside the house. _What if something went wrong?_ I clenched my fists, crossing my arms across my stomach.

_What if, in the end, he just doesn't wake up? _I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling my chest heave as my breathing became shallower, and shallower. The tightness in my chest increased and it felt like my ribs were curling in on themselves. I suddenly felt my face flush, a cold sweat breaking out over my forehead. My entire body was shaking.

Scarlet came running out of the house, wrapped tightly in a raincoat that looked way too big for her and an umbrella in her hand. "Ginny? Ginny! What the hell are you doing?"

She grabbed my arm and, to my utmost horror, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I shrugged her off.

"…Ginny?" she asked softly. "What's wrong?"

I sniffed, but it physically hurt to do so. Her eyes fell to where I was absentmindedly rubbing my lower ribs. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head. "No… I feel a bit sick actually."

She tugged on my arm. "Come inside."

I walked away from her down the sidewalk, feeling the tears streaming down my cheeks and mingling with the rain and my stomach pang at the mere thought of going back into the house. She grabbed my arm and shoved me down to sit on a low wall, then put her hand on the back of my neck and forced me to double over, all in the space of about 3 seconds.

I groaned. "Don't do that." I tried to get up but she pushed me back down again.

"Take a few deep breaths and then tell me what happened." she said calmly.

I tried, but my chest felt constricted, and I couldn't take in a proper breath. I groaned again, trying to stand up. "I think I'm gonna die."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not gonna die. Just take a few deep breaths and calm the fuck down."

I did as I was told and slowly felt the pain in my chest ebb. It was still there but it was manageable, I could breathe, and I certainly didn't feel sick anymore.

"Yes?"

"Yes." I repeated back, nodding, still leaning forward.

I heard her sigh. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, how did you know what was wrong with me?" I rasped, kneading my ribs with my knuckles with a frown on my face.

She pursed her lips. "You were just panicking, anyone could see that. Are you coming back in?"

I shook my head again, and she waited with me for a half hour or so, just letting me think, and for that, I was grateful.

Finally stepping through the front door, I found Harry leaning back against the railings on the stairs up ahead. His head shot up when he heard me come in and his wand was out in seconds. I felt my body heat up, the water evaporating into the air in a cloud of steam. He stood there for a moment, just looking at me, and then he tried to smile. "I don't know what to say…"

There was a lump in my throat, and I had to swallow hard before speaking. My voice was quiet and it cracked half way through, but he got the message. "Can I have a hug?"

He gave a dismissive laugh, and walked forward to envelop me in a tight hug. It wasn't anything like when Adam jumped on me, it didn't hurt, it wasn't spine-crackingly tight, it was _gentle,_ and _comforting,_ and _warm._ Something I could melt into. And I did. I didn't have time to open my arms and hug him back, so my arms where sandwiched neatly between our stomachs. That smell that was uniquely him surrounded my senses, and I felt the ache in my chest ease as I relaxed further, calming down.

"Okay?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah." But he didn't let go.

I didn't mind.

* * *

Scarlet was dancing again.

It was depressing to watch…

'_You know I love it when you__'__r__e__ down on yo__ur__ knees, and I'm a junkie for the way that __yo__u please, you shut me up when you swallow me down. My back to the wall you're going to town. __I __almost told you that I love you, Thank god I didn't because it would've been a lie, I say the damnedest things, when you're on top of me, I almost told you that I love you! I hate to say it but it has to be said, You look so fragile as I fuck with your head, I know, it shouldn't but it's getting me up, If sex is the drug then what is the cost__?__'_

Her face half scrunched up as she sang the last line of the verse, twirling a bit. "You know I could get used to this rock business just for this band."

I watched her dance around the drawing room turned spacious living room without really seeing her. My mind was elsewhere. Adam, however found it quite entertaining - though I'm pretty sure that that had something to do with the fact that her skirt was flying about, and her boobs bounced quite a bit as she jumped around.

"He's playing this from the top floor right?" he asked, not looking away from Scarlet.

I nodded blandly.

"Does it not hurt his ears…? I mean I know it's quiet from here but… I mean, that's quite a racket." He looked up at the ceiling.

I shrugged, though that was a thought. Vampires had really good hearing right?

'_I almost told you that I love you. Thank god I didn't because it would've been a lie, I say the damnedest things, when you're on top of me, I almost told you that I love you! I'm not the one that you want. I'm not the one that you need - My love is like a_ fucking _disease, You can give me your hand, you can make your demands, I'm the hardest mother fucker to please!'_

He finally turned took look at me and took in my appearance properly. "Are you all right, Ginny?"

I tore my eyes away from Scarlet. "Hmm?"

He frowned, and then turned to Scarlet. "Will you stop dancing for a minute? You're tits are becoming an eyesore."

She giggled, twirling to face him with a flick of her hips. "That is starting to hurt a bit." She put her hands over her boobs and pushed them up, arching her shoulders forward and grimacing. I should probably start monitoring her daily sugar intake.

He watched her for a few moments longer before blinking and looking at me, shaking his head slightly. He pulled a face, tilting his head slightly toward me, and down, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ginny? I asked if you were okay."

I bit my bottom lip. "I'm fine." I whispered.

_But he isn't. _A voice whispered in the back of my head.

I managed to disappear up to Harry's room some time later, mostly just wanting to be somewhere where my friends couldn't find me. Opening his door, the music was playing quietly from the right side of the room, and Harry himself was out of view. Stepping into the room fully, and closing the door, I finally realised that there was a balcony with double glass doors where the window used to be, and he was leaning against the bars looking out across the city.

I leant on the doorframe, letting the cold breeze wash over me. "Happy Birthday." I tried, realising that I really had nothing to say to him.

He turned to look at me, leaning back against the bars and crossing his arms, looking vaguely surprised. He tilted his head. "Hey, Gin."

I gestured to where he was standing. "What's with the balcony?"

He pulled a face, remembering, uncrossing his arms. "Tonks did it. I needed to get out, and I'm not allowed out of the house, so she made this out of the glass and bars from the window. Took her 10 seconds." He held his arms out either side of himself, as if to welcome me to it. "She thinks she's funny." He dropped his hands onto the bars either side of him.

I felt an amused smile wind its way onto my face. "What did the Healers tell you then?" I stepped gingerly onto the stone extension, remembering how the Healers had all trooped in this morning as I lowered myself to sit down against the bars.

He sat down beside me and shrugged. "They took some more blood samples." He held out his arm as evidence, where the small red dot on the crease of his elbow was starting to scab over already. "They think it'll happen fairly soon."

I swallowed, not sure of what to say. I found I couldn't sit down anymore, jumping up and wandering back into his room. "So how was that game you wanted? Was it any good? Because I still have the receipt and everything if you want to-" I turned around and was immediately cut off by the fact that he was standing right behind me.

He grabbed my wrists, gently. "Are you okay with this?" He looked pained. "Because I didn't want to spring it on you, and make you feel uncomfortable, but I didn't want to lie to you either, Ginny."

I shook my head quickly, making the room spin. "No! I mean, yes, I'm okay with this, I'm just worried about you!" My brow creased, and I looked at the ground. "I don't want to loose you." I whispered.

He let go of my wrists, and I looked up to see him staring at me with a mix of confusion and surprise. "Oh… I -"

Adam threw himself through the door, and I took a step back from Harry, turning to look at my best friend without showing how annoyed I was. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Come on Ginny, we're going to Diagon Alley in 10 minutes! Did you forget?"

Yes. "No! I'll be down in a minute, just give me a second." Adam stood there for a moment pointedly, and it took my glaring at him and shaking my head for him to realise that he had to fuck off before I'd move at all.

I could hear him dragging his feet as he descended the stairs. I turned to Harry. "Yeah, I do have to go to Diagon Alley, I forgot." He grinned at me. "We're getting our school supplies… did you get your letter today?" I asked curiously.

He nodded. "Yeah, McGonagall put a note in there saying that I might not be coming in on the 1st with everyone else, it depends on how I feel, and if I've changed yet. But I made Quidditch Captain, and I got an O in DADA." He added lightly.

A smile broke out on my face and I went up on my tiptoes to hug him. "See I knew you would!" I dropped back on my heels. "So what do you need from Diagon Alley? We can-" I stopped, an idea forming in my head. "Hang on. Come with me."

He made a noise of protest as I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the stairs. Tonks was standing in the Kitchen with a cup of tea cradled in both hands and a bored expression on her face. It lit up when she saw Harry and me though. "Hey, Harry, what brings you down here?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

He used his free arm to point at me. "She does." He said without humour.

I rolled my eyes. "We're going to Diagon Alley." I said, and she nodded slowly. "And we're going to have escorts." I heard Adam snort at my choice of words in the hall behind us.

Tonks nodded again. "Yes, Remus, Moody, Kingsley and I will be there." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, putting down her tea. "Why? What do you want?"

"Well…" I started slowly. "If we're going to have people there with us, why can't Harry go? He needs to get out of the house. You've gotta be going stir crazy in here." The last part was directed at Harry, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at him, my hand still gripped firmly to his wrist, preventing him from leaving.

I saw him nod sharply out of the corner of my eye. "Bit." he said.

But Tonks was shaking her head. "No, you're not well, if something goes wrong while we're in public -"

"It won't!" I insisted. "And if it does, I'll take him out of sight, and get one of you to take him back immediately, no questions asked."

Tonks went quiet for a few moments. "…Alright." She said slowly, and I was surprised at how easily she caved. She pointed at Harry, "But you don't leave my sight, understand?"

Harry nodded, slightly stunned. I let go of his wrist and pushed him into the hallway before she could change her mind. Adam was standing at the door with Scarlet, waiting. When we arrived in Diagon Alley through the floo, Harry seemed slightly more grateful for being dragged outside, if the fact that he'd grabbed me and said 'I bloody love you, you know that right?' was any indication. My heart had jumped into my throat despite itself when he'd said that.

It was a sunny enough day to consider it ice-cream worthy, though in all honesty Adam and Scarlet would have probably got one even if it was hailing. Harry took one look at my strawberry ice-cream and snorted. "Have you got enough hundreds and thousands on that thing?" he asked sarcastically.

I shoved him into Adam, who didn't seem to want to declare war on the situation just yet. He'd probably wait until we'd let our guard down… Tonks and

Remus were right behind us, and Moody and Kingsley where no where in sight, scanning the parameters. Tonks had refused to let Harry get some robes fitted in Madam Malkin's, declaring that they probably wouldn't fit him in the next week or so, which was, admittedly, true. He'd grown at least an inch in the past 10 days alone.

We'd all managed to get our books within 20 minutes, and were on our way for lunch when we got sidetracked by running into Dean and Seamus, who were keen to catch up with Harry, and of course we weren't allowed to split up, so I was forced to stand and listen to them prattling on about Quidditch. I probably would have joined in if it weren't for the fact that I hadn't spoken to Dean since he'd asked me out on the train ride home in July, and I felt slightly awkward just standing near him, never mind getting in a full conversation with him.

He hadn't expected me to say no, and the look on his face had nearly killed me. I didn't like doing it, but it was better than leading him on, and I couldn't have been nicer about it. I still felt a little guilty though.

Seamus kept smirking at me out of the corner of his eye and I tried not to blush. Which was a pretty futile fight in itself. Adam grabbed me from behind and spun me around so we weren't facing them, and I was vaguely grateful for his weird obsession with constantly touching me in one way or another. He crossed his arms under my breasts. "Where do you wanna go next?" he asked, somehow managing to rest his chin on my shoulder despite being at least 5 inches taller than me.

"I dunno." I said truthfully. We had already got all of our school supplies over the past couple of hours, and I wasn't sure if I could be bothered to do much walking around. "I wanted to go look in the Quidditch store… I could do with some gloves."

"Oh?"

"I think I might try out for Chaser this year." I said quietly, hoping to Merlin that Harry didn't overhear me.

He grinned, and I scrunched up my face, waiting for him to take the piss out of me. But it didn't come. "You'll be great, Ginny." He patted my stomach, and I smacked his arm_. Oh,_ what a dysfunctional couple we are…

Just as I was thinking about asking Tonks to take us down to the Quidditch store while Remus stayed with the others, Remus himself stood up straight from where he was leaning against the wall and walked over to where we were. There was a small pause where he drew his wand cautiously and frowned, nose wrinkled.

"…Remus?" Tonks began to walk toward him and the others seemed to notice that something was going on. Harry had his wand drawn and the others followed suit. Adam only held onto me tighter and I had difficulty drawing my wand. He stood up straight behind me and pulled me backwards out of the way as a spell came hurtling in our direction.

And everything froze.

Literally! The moment that the spell hit the wall to the right of us, just grazing the arm of Adams jacket, all of the nearby shoppers slowed their movements and stopped as still as statues in the wake of three people entering through the entrance to Knockturn Alley. The one in the middle was easily recognisable as Bellatrix Lestrange, her crazy eyes lit up with malice as she sauntered out with her wand held elegantly at her side. She smiled.

There was a man and a woman either side of her, both with identical electric blue eyes, though the bloke had brown hair so dark it was almost black, and the girls short hair was bleach blonde. They were obviously siblings, if the eyes and similar facial structure was anything to go by. That and they both had the same lopsided smirks on their faces. They both easily dwarfed Bellatrix, the guy standing at 6'and his sister at 5'9". The girl had her arms raised a few inches from either side, and her fingers ridged, pointing out toward her surroundings, blue electric currents jumping from finger to finger.

I slowly came to realise that it was her who had frozen the entire square.

"Well, well, well." said Bellatrix vindictively. "What. Do we have. Here?" she continued slowly.

Kingsley and Moody were still out of sight and, by the look of the people Lestrange had brought with her, I hoped they were calling in reinforcements. Remus was eyeing the siblings with a mixture of disdain and surprise.

"Get out of here, Bellatrix." he warned, wand aimed right between her eyes.

She laughed. "Oh, I'm not here for you, werewolf, not yet - don't you worry." He scowled at her, but she continued on regardless. "No, I want Weasley."

She pointed at me and I felt my blood run cold. Why would she want me?

Remus and Tonks seemed to be thinking the same thing, both looking over at me briefly, before taking a step back so I was out of range. "Why do you want Ginny?"

Bellatrix got very angry very quickly. "Oh like you don't know! Keeping it all to yourself for so long must have been hard though." She smiled sweetly.

"Not for long, the Dark Lord can give her good use!" she said cheerfully. She waved her wand and I felt something tug at my navel, like a portkey, only it was dragging my feet forward along the floor.

Adam pulled me back but the pull was too strong. Luckily Harry noticed pretty quickly and stepped in front of me, blocking me from view. He was close enough for me to drop my forehead onto his shoulder blades. He grabbed my hand behind his back, making sure I couldn't get pulled out from behind him.

Bellatrix's anger peaked and she slashed her wand forward, calling the guy on her right into action. The cutting spell sliced through the air, Remus just managing to deflect it. We all had to dive out of the way when the guy clapped his hands together and made a pose akin to someone throwing a cricket ball. Right leg bent up, both hands cupping something that wasn't quite there yet behind his left ear, then he stepped forward and swung a ball of blue light toward them.

It was the same colour and consistency as his sisters' magic, who was still standing the way she was, only she managed to raise her right arm up, and fling it through the air. I hadn't even seen Mad-eye and Kingsley coming, but it didn't matter now. Tonks pulled Dean, Seamus and Scarlet down a nearby alley.

Remus stood his ground in front of the three of us, me sandwiched between Adam and Harry. There was a crater on the wall where Adam and I were before.

"Harry, take them and run." hissed Remus, gesturing with his hand behind his back.

I felt Harry's grip on my hand tighten, and he yanked me forward out of Adam's grip, using the other to push Adam forcefully toward the alley, pulling me in the opposite direction with him as another bolt hit the wall where I'd previously been, between Adam and me. Adam turned to where it landed, and was reluctant to leave me, but Tonks grabbed him and pulled him down the Alley.

I looked up at Harry, but his eyes were on the girl now. She had a smirk on her face I didn't quite like. Remus was dueling with the bloke closer to where Bellatrix was. I drew my wand and cast a couple of carefully placed charms over at the two fallen Order Members behind Harry's back and waited with bated breath for the few seconds it took for them to regain consciousness.

Within seconds all hell broke loose. Four more Death Eaters I didn't recognise came running down the alley and out into the street. Moody and Kingsley immediately went in to block them, and Tonks came running out of the alley, a sheen coming over the exit to the alley that would protect the others as long as they kept back.

With everyone else occupied, Bellatrix came walking toward us and I tried to move my hand from Harry's grip for better manoeuvrability but he wouldn't let go and I panicked. Before I had chance to think about it though I was being shoved away from him. I nearly lost my footing and stumbled, by the time I was able to look up all I could do was watch in horror as a spell I hadn't seen coming slashed across his chest, the blood immediately discolouring his pale t-shirt.

Everything seemed to happen ten times slower than it really did. Remus ran forward and stunned Bellatrix, then shoved something in my hand and pushed me toward Harry just as an explosion behind me, caused by the guy with dark hair, almost knocked me off my feet. Opening my hand I found a Medallion, what it was from, I didn't know, but the odd blue glow it was giving off told me that it was a portkey.

I grabbed Harry's hand and clasped it firmly in mine so that the metal touched his skin too as it activated, taking us back to Grimmauld Place. We touched down on the top floor landing, just outside Harry's door. I only just managed to stick my landing. I felt Harry's hand slip from mine, and he sat down heavily on the edge of his bed, silent.

I took a few seconds to ground myself, allowing my heart to slow, before I remembered the spell Bellatrix had sent. "I'm going to go and find someone who can have a look at that." I said loudly, snapping him out of his stupor.

I was reluctant to leave him on his own; he looked both unbearably pale and green at the same time. But if I was quick…

I was back less than a minute later, slightly worried that I couldn't find a single Order member. Apparently even that was too long, because Susan Brand was running into his bedroom when I came back, and while at first I was relieved, the moment I saw Harry on his knees by the shower in the bathroom my chest constricted again.

By the time I'd fully entered the room he had collapsed completely and I watched, slightly dazed and confused, as the Healer ripped open the front of his shirt by the gash the spell had made and went rather pale upon inspecting the wound. I could only warn her as Harry blacked out, giving her chance to catch his head before it smacked off the floor. She looked immensely worried.

"Do me a favour and help me levitate him will you? I need to get him to St. Mungo's. Now!"

_

* * *

_

_QAN: Right, first, song's **I Almost Told You That I Loved You, **by** Papa Roach,** second, I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you're review, it wasn't intentional, I just answered then in bits and pieces then couldn't remember which ones I had and hadn't replied to and gave up. Three, wait, was there a three? …Yeah - and 3 - If something confuses you about this chapter, ask me, and I'll answer within the limits of not giving away the plot. Also really worried about this chapter... cause I brought a lot of new things into it... Magics and peoples and guys blacking out - you never know with me!_

_You arent supposed to understand why they wanted Ginny by the way, that'll take a while =] What else… OH! Yeah - give a massive thanks to my new Beta **Miss Birdie** - who completely saved this chapter from a lot of errors... I've had too much sugar, and need to go calm down so… -Runs away-_


	8. Marks

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

_A/N: Uhm… yeah, this one's quite long, so I hope you're ready to have your arse go numb trying to read it all in one sitting._

_

* * *

_

Quote:

_**The Doctor**__: _[excited in realising who he has just kissed]_ No, no - no way, Reinette Poisson? Later Madame D'Etoiles, later still mistress of Louis XV, uncrowned Queen of France? Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan. _Fantastic_ gardener!_

_**French Servant**__: Who the hell are you?!_

_**The Doctor**__: _[giddy]_ I'm the Doctor, and I just snogged Madame de Pompadour! _[Steps onto Fireplace and swivels out of sight]

_**Doctor Who, **__Series 2, Episode… 4, is it? Well it's called the __**Girl in the Fireplace**__, and I just watched it so hah!_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_Part One: Red Sky_

Chapter Eight: Marks

_*Harry's POV*_

* * *

I couldn't remember anything at all from the past 24 hours, and on top of that, I'd been out cold for the three days after that. As far as I know they had to work pretty damned hard just to get me to stop bleeding, never mind everything else. The spell had ruptured something, and I'd woken up with thick bandages around my stomach. It hurt to laugh, which wasn't good because the Weasleys were back, and Ron dealt with it by making jokes about everything. Not that they were all that funny, but the odd comment got through - mostly when he wasn't trying too hard.

They'd put me in a private room, well away from the busiest parts of the hospital with charms around the room so no one but the designated Healers, the ones who'd been with me over the last couple of months, could get in. Them and my 'guardians' anyway.

Tonks was beside herself - upset that she'd even thought about agreeing to let me leave the house, which leaves me stuck for the rest of the summer. Apparently, or so says Ginny anyway, Sirius was coming back on the 5th, and bits and pieces of random furniture had been turning up shrunk down and lightened in boxes over the past couple of days. Remus insisted that it must be Mary's, seeing as Sirius 'the dozy git' hadn't bothered to add a note.

_At least he's back soon_ I mused.

Hermione was sitting drinking hot chocolate, cross-legged on a hard backed wooden chair to my right. It took me a moment to realise that the day had somehow progressed into night without my knowing.

I sighed exasperatedly, throwing myself back into the hospital bed.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off. "If you ask me if I'm okay one more time I will have to silence you Hermione."

She pursed her lips. "Fine. Do you know when you can leave?"

"Well… they're seriously considering locking me away here until I fully -"I stopped, frowning. They still didn't know… "Until I fully heal - it could be a while."

She shook her head, bringing the cup up to her mouth with both hands. "Bloody ridiculous." She mumbled, looking towards the doors. I couldn't help but agree with her.

"So how was Australia?" I asked, pulling the blankets up to my chin.

She smiled, shaking her head. "It was too hot, my mum and dad got food poisoning on the 3rd night there, and the hotel we were in was opposite a building site."

I snorted. "Did they decide to get a holiday home there?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah, they found a nice one right out by the coast, it's got a wonderful view of the ocean. You'd have liked it. Three floors, three bedrooms, two are en suite, the master one's on the top floor with a balcony, but we're letting that be the spare one so when we go there we're all on the same floor. The kitchen's huge, and it has two living areas - honestly, I swear it's bigger than our own house!" she said. "Dad went a bit mental, insists we got a good price for it, and it'll be a nice place to go to retire."

I grinned. "Sounds nice."

She nodded, swallowing and putting her empty cup on my bedside table before turning to Ron. "How did you manage to get back from Romania so quickly? Word got back that they were attacked 20 minutes after it happened, and you were here 30 seconds later."

Ron pulled a face. "We left all our things in Romania. Mum's gonna collect it all tonight."

Hermione smirked to herself, still looking at the door, waiting for something. "What's up?"

She looked at me in surprise and shook her head, wide eyed. "Nothing! Why would anything be wrong?"

"You look distracted."

She was still shaking her head when Ron jumped in. "She drank about 5 cups of coffee before we got here."

I scrunched up my nose. "You should be bouncing off the walls."

"De-caff, actually." She said matter-of-factly. "And I was only drinking it because you had no tea bags!" she shot at Ron, who held his arms up in defeat.

"Just sayin'."

They stayed at the hospital with me until around eleven, when they were finally asked to leave, promising to come back and see me in the morning, first thing. Remus had meandered in some while after, when no one was about, and I couldn't help but wonder how the hell he'd got in. "I just got a call from Sirius, he's booked the next flight back to England. He was just going to floo, but I told him that you were fine, and he still had things to do, so he's going to wrap everything up in New Zealand and be back here sometime early tomorrow morning, with any luck." He sat down on the end of the hospital bed, twiddling his wand between his fingers.

"Did you talk to the Healers?" I asked cautiously, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

He nodded, smiling ruefully. "Yes, and they're sure you can come home with us tomorrow, if that wound's started to heal up. Don't worry, even if you're still in here, I'm sure Sirius will deal with the jet lag for a half hour or so to come and see you." He paused, standing up and taking a seat on the sofa along the opposite wall. "I'm on watch duty anyway, you should get some sleep - I'll be right here if you need anything."

I barely had the energy to nod.

* * *

They'd refused to let me leave the hospital until sometime similar the next day, by which point I'd had my bandages redone, and was fully rested. This also meant that when I got back to Grimmauld Place at midnight, I wasn't at all tired. Sighing, I threw my wand onto the bed and grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling it over my head. I cast a small charm on the bandages to keep them from getting ruined and went for a quick shower.

The sounds of Tonks coming in the front door with Fleur, who was laughing loudly, floated up from the ground floor as I came out of the bathroom, Charlie and Bill's lower voices chatting in the background. Throwing myself down on my bed, I grabbed the control and turned the telly on, pressing play to resume where I'd left off, right in the middle of a sentence.

'_-not too much to ask, Nips, Sid's almost 17, he's gotta get laid before his birthday otherwise I can't be his friend, obviously.' _

Ginny opened the door. She stood and watched what I was watching for a moment, right up to where a guy in a hat said _'__W__hat's this guy__'__s name? Mad Twatter?'_.

She watched Michelle and Tony for a moment longer before letting out a breath of laughter. "What the _hell_ are you watching?"

"Skins." I said idly. "Hello, by the way."

She grinned at me. "Hi." She put one leg up on the end of the bed and hoisted herself up, walking across it to land down beside me. "I figured you wouldn't be able to sleep. I went to see you this afternoon and you were still asleep."

"I was tired!"

"How is that even physically possible?" she laughed. "You were out for the three days before that."

I didn't look at her, fixing my eyes on the screen, and she laughed harder. There was a flash of purple and I finally noticed the fleece blanket she had wrapped around her, sitting cross-legged against the wall. I raised my eyebrows. "Cold?"

"No, comfy." She said seriously, wiggling back a bit.

"You're just lucky I'm wearing pants." I folded my arms and she let out a low laugh.

She glanced down at my pyjama bottoms and laughed even harder, looking out toward the balcony. "I'm gonna kill Scarlet when I see her next."

"Why?"

"Because I've got her annoying bloody voice in my head."

"Should I be worried?"

"No." her voice was quite high, mockingly innocent as she summoned the box for the DVD.

"I think I've seen this before."

"What, this episode?"

"No…" she trailed off, looking on the back cover. "It's one of Scarlet's favourite shows…"

She went quiet for a long while, then put it down, and looked up. "Oh! I saw this!" she pointed at the TV as Sid and a bunch of kids legged it out of a house covered in food, in various states of undress, laughing as someone screamed from inside.

'_Can't believe you haven't washed man. You stink!'_

'_Somebody kissed me!'_

'_Yeah mate. But that's a complete total operator error, because you stink!'_

'_I didn't have time.'_

'_Time? I've been home, showered, done my chi, had a wank, subtly undermined my dad, put new clothes on and here I am, with my English course work.'_

'_English course work... uggh.'_

'_You know what Sid, sometimes I wonder why you even bother to get up in the morning. You're such a complete total fucking waste of time and-'_

A blonde girl knocked her drink onto Tony's lap and Ginny laughed. "He's a bit of a prat isn't he?"

"More than a bit. Well… all of them are really."

She shifted down so she was lying down on top of the covers, her ankles crossed over one another. "You don't half watch some shit, Harry."

"It's not that bad!"

"So far, all I've caught on this show is sex, drugs, partying and an awful lot of swearing."

"Regular night out with Scarlet isn't it?"

She smacked my shoulder, staying clear of the bandages covering my chest and the majority of my stomach. She ran the tips of her fingers over my side. "It doesn't hurt does it? I mean, if it did they'd give you pain killers right?"

"My ribs are a little sore but it doesn't bother me."

She scrunched up her nose. "Did they tell you everything? About what happened? Remus told me after they took you away to fix you up. Something to do with the spell having sliced right through the skin to-"

"I know, I know, don't finish that sentence."

She raised her eyebrows. "What, did they not tell you the full thing?"

"They tried to, but to be honest I'd rather they didn't tell me about how venom was eating through my insides and just let them get on with fixing the problem."

She snorted. "You've gone really pale."

"I already was pale."

"Paler then." She was grinning in a way that I didn't like.

* * *

We were still up at 6am, for whatever ridiculous reason, going through Skins box-sets while Ginny pointed out the stupidity of it all. She was laughing, one hand gripping tightly to my upper arm, having trouble breathing.

The door slammed shut downstairs and someone swore loudly, stomping through the main hall. "Did you hear that?"

She shook her head, looking at me like I was crazy. "I don't have your freakishly sharp hearing, do I?" She sat up straight, turning to me, giving me a curious look. "You know I've wondered - how can you sit through such loud music?"

I was about to answer when there was a loud thud downstairs as something hit the floor, then a feminine ring of laugher. Ginny was on her feet before I was, out the door and standing on the stairwell, she looked down between the railings to the bottom floor. Then she grinned. "Harry." She walked back toward me and pulled me outside, pointing down to where Sirius was standing by two suit cases, his hands in his hair. A woman with long curly black hair had her back to him, her hands on her hips.

She was pulling off her leather jacket as I began to half run down the stairs. Sirius was looking up to see who was on their way down before I hit the second floor. He grinned widely up at me.

"Alright, mate! We didn't wake you up, did we?"

I honestly didn't think before jumping down the last five steps, literally onto my godfather, who, luckily for me, wasn't bowled over, and didn't mind catching me. He was laughing as I let my feet touch down on the floor. "Why are you still awake?"

I didn't answer, and he shook his head, letting me go. "I'm sorry I couldn't be back earlier, but… well - at least I have an excuse." He pointed to his right, where the woman with black hair was leaning against the wall trying to unzip her knee high boots. Finally throwing them onto the suitcases, she looked up towards us, the heels on her boots ticking off of the zips.

Her eyes landed on me and she froze for a moment, her heart beat quickening as she held her breath. She gave a small laugh. "Bloody hell, you've grown!" she laughed again, running her fingers through her hair before gathering it all up and pulling it over one shoulder, where it contrasted greatly with the long, but tight white t-shirt, the outline of a skull and roses smudged in black and red smoky lines across the right hand side, and stomach where it pulled down over the very tops of her thighs over her black skinny jeans. The black and white stripy socks she'd been wearing under her boots were still pulled up to her knees.

She was tanned bronze, with high cheekbones and an angular jaw, painstakingly shaped eyebrows and manicured nails, and round, electric blue eyes that shimmered at least 4 different tones to me through the dimly lit room, hidden behind thick purple framed glasses. She pulled them off and pocketed them, tugging a bobble off her wrist to pull her hair into a loose pony tail over her right shoulder, the loose curls out of her face.

"I remember when you were born!" she was grinning now, but her eyes were shimmering, and Sirius cast her a worried glance. She took a deep breath and walked toward me, where she held out her hand. "I guess we'll start again, 'ey? Mary MacDonald, I'm you're godmother."

Godmother? I glanced at Sirius, who gave a sheepish grin. "Unofficially. She couldn't make it to the Christening."

I knew that there was more to it than that, but held my tongue, grasping her hand tightly to shake. I decided to humour her, as ridiculous as I felt introducing myself to her. "Nice to meet you Mary, I'm Harry Potter."

She laughed, then cried. Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her side into his chest. "Told you you'd cry." He mumbled half triumphantly, half matter-of-factly into her hair.

* * *

Ginny laughed the moment the door opened, and I had to turn to see what she was looking at. Adam was standing in the door way with his hands in his pockets and a small scowl on his face. Ginny cooed.

"Oh, you're well 'ard a'n'tcha, Adam?" she said in an accent I didn't recognise, imitating Adam.

His scowl deepened. "_Fuck _off." he said roughly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's up with you?"

"Nowt." he grunted, throwing himself down on the sofa opposite her.

"Come on, I'll get it out of you eventually." She stood up and sat down on his lap, her back against one arm and her legs over the other. She grinned. "What's crack?" she asked, in the same accent as before.

He gave her a look. "Don't talk like that, it doesn't suit you - you're from the wrong side of England."

"Fine - what's happened?"

He scrunched up his nose, resting his lower arms on her stomach. "Me mam's gone mental over that wedding 'an't she? Wont give 'es a moments piece!" He dropped his head back against the back of the chair, looking up to the ceiling. "I blame Scarlet! It's 'er fault! Letting 'er brother pick 'er up…" he grumbled. He closed his eyes. "_And_ I 'ave a hangover…"

She flicked him on the forehead, and he winced. "Prat. That's where you were last night? Getting 'steamin''." She said, putting emphasis on the word 'steamin''.

"I was with that lass you saw last time you were up at mine." He said quietly. "Tony and Matthew were on the trampoline in my back garden, speakers out through my bedroom window with bloody Miley Cyrus blasting. Matthew ended up in the hedge, it was fuckin' hilarious. My parents were out. It was like… one in the morning… too much Vodka and orange. Got absolutely plastered."

Scarlet appeared in the doorway, her coat over her arm and her shoes in the other. "Miley Cyrus? Really? I thought you were a rocker, Adam."

"We decided to be different… and we'd already been through one bottle between us."

"That's not that bad." She leant over the back of the sofa I was on, where I was lying with my legs over the arm of the chair, with my head in the middle, flicking channels on Mary's TV. Sirius had set it up in here yesterday. It'd taken 3 hours, and he'd somehow singed his eyebrows somewhere in between.

"It was a two litre bottle - 37 percent. In the space of like 20 minutes. It only went downhill from there."

She snorted. "Well done." She leant over the back of the sofa, crossing her arms and looking down at me. "What's up, chick?"

Chick? I pulled a face. "Don't call me chick."

"Alright, pumpkin, how're you doing?"

I gave her an incredulous look and Ginny grinned over at me. "Don't be offended, she does that to everyone. So far we've got hunny, sausage, pumpkin, cupcake, marshmallow, muffin-"

"Just food based things, then?" I said.

She grinned. "There's also chick, chicken, hunny bun, pigeon…"

Adam yawned. "She calls me muppet sometimes."

"That's not a nickname, love, you _are_ a muppet." said Scarlet, smirking at him.

He seemed about to throw something at her but found nothing soft enough within reach. Mary opened the door and beamed at all of us. She'd been expressly happy since she'd got here, that smile hadn't dropped off her face since she'd grinned at me the other night. "Sorry guys, you're going to have to move upstairs, Order Meeting."

Ginny sighed. "Yeah… figured." She stood up, then dragged Adam to his feet and grabbed Scarlet's hand to pull her away just as she was turning to me to say something else.

I stood up, trying not to knock my ribs; it still twinged when I made a wrong move. She was staring at me like I was an alien - I didn't blame her really, she hadn't seen me since I was 18 months old, and I looked a lot like my dad, Sirius himself had said it was unnerving. She caught herself. "I'll call you down when it's over; Sirius needs to talk to you."

I nodded slowly. "Thanks but…" I trailed off, not sure how to ask, but then Remus showed up behind her and it seemed a vaguely easier task. "Remus, can I sit in on this meeting?"

"No." he said without stopping to think about it.

"Remus!"

"No!" he repeated, raising his arms up above his head as he turned to walk away.

"I need to know what's going on, Remus." I said, following him out. "You can't keep me in the dark about this. I almost died. They're after Ginny."

Remus stopped and took a deep breath, turning to look at me with a pained expression on his face. "I know, I know you want to know, but Harry, it'll just eat at you. You have enough on your mind as it is!"

"Yes, and this will continue to bug me until I find out what's going on."

He was thinking on it when Sirius appeared in the doorway to the Kitchen. He looked annoyed. "Come on then." His voice was tight, as if he was restraining from shouting. "You can sit in for the beginning, and that's it - understand?"

I nodded, and let him pull me in and sit me down between himself and Mary. The eyes of everyone in the room fell on me and I suddenly wished I hadn't asked in the first place. Dumbledore beamed down at me. "How are you, Harry?"

"I'm fine." I said, looking over at him.

He nodded. "Good." He turned to the rest of the Order. "I do believe we have some catching up to do, on you're part, Miss MacDonald." He looked over at her and she grinned.

"Don't worry about that, Sirius and Remus have already filled me in on the state of things, and everything that I've missed while I was gone."

"Good, good. Now, do we have a definite identity on the two Death Eaters with Bellatrix Lestrange?" He turned to Remus, who shifted under his gaze. I had to wonder what had gone on in that time he was away to make Bellatrix want to kill him.

Remus looked over at Mrs Weasley nervously. "Saiph and Electra Capella." He said quietly, looking at the table.

An odd ripple went over the room; Mrs Weasley's hand went to her mouth. "So it's true? It's happening now?" her voice shook.

Remus nodded once, stiffly, and refused to look over at me, or any of the Weasleys. "Possibly."

Mrs Weasley turned to Dumbledore, who sat down in his seat, thinking. "And they want Ginny?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Then we must do all we can to protect her."

Bill was the only Weasley, other than his parents who seemed to get the implications of this discovery, Charlie, Fred and George looked to Dumbledore to elaborate. "Who are they? And why do they want Ginny?"

Remus ran his hand through his hair a couple of times. "They're… well they're vampires."

He still wouldn't look at me. "_Vampires_?" I asked slowly.

I could see his jaw set as he clenched his teeth. "Yes. They were born Vampires, so were their parents, and several generations before them. They were born undead, immortal, and brought up learning to kill, to master their powers." He shook his head. "Vampires take magic straight from their core; they have no use for wands, not really. Sometimes that… wandless magic can migrate into something more. But _only_ in the purest of blood." He added the last sentence firmly, as if to leave no room for argument.

"They're pure-blooded wizards, and pure-blooded vampires. For centuries, not a single witch or wizard in their family has been anything less than a pure-blood, and were always born undead. In situations like that, with such a high concentration of magic… the powers can take another form. They're full of potential energy. Electra, for example, turned that into kinetic energy, movement, or lack-there-of."

"Like how she made the whole square freeze." I said.

"Yes." He looked over at me briefly, and I saw the hesitance in his eyes. He wasn't sure he should be telling me this. "Sometimes it can be used to control the elements, in the most basic of forms, at the very least. I've seen… some really horrible stuff, down in the inner circles. The outcasts stay underground. There's an entire civilization that we know nothing about." He shook his head. "The vampires farm humans for the blood, werewolves will catch their prey before hand, lock them all in the same room and then let themselves loose when the full moon comes up through skylights. They can't escape. They'll torture their captives with manipulated fire, and magic. You can't imagine how… horrific it is down there without seeing it yourself, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

This was obviously one of the first times he'd spoken of what he'd found on his mission, because even Dumbledore was looking grim. "Saiph uses magic in the purest of forms; you saw that, the balls of energy. It takes a lot out of you, and requires _so_ much _practice_ and _training _before you could even attempt it. I've seen them, down there, training up their young to fight. It's disgusting." He spat.

His hands were balled up into fists, and he was glaring at the table. Sirius squeezed his shoulder.

"So I could never…?" I left the question open, and waited.

Remus shook his head. "No, you are the way you are through your mother's blood. Muggle blood, I doubt you'd ever be able to reach that kind of control over your magic, not without years, if not decades of training."

Charlie snorted. "It's not like he doesn't have the time."

"Yes, but he'd have to train under the influence of other Vampires, vampires like him, like the ones below. You couldn't risk that kind of thing just to defeat Voldemort."

A number of people winced, and I tried not to say anything.

* * *

"Come on!" Sirius slammed open my bedroom door once again and I paused the game I was playing, looking over at him expectantly as he leaned in through the door, one arm braced against the frame and the other on the handle. "We're going to Bolton."

I frowned, but stood up anyway, switching everything off and hopping on one leg to pull on some trainers. "Why are we going there?"

"Need to see a guy about a dog." He flashed me a grin and leapt down the stairs two at a time… sideways.

I heaved a sigh, walking at half the pace. "I thought you were picking up Zeus on Friday?"

"I was, but I felt bad leaving him in the Kennels for two weeks so I asked James to pick him up and look after him for a while. Just until we're ready for him back home… I need to build him a house." He grabbed the banister on the landing and jumped down to the floor below.

"House?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

"You'll see."

He opened the front door and shooed me out. "Are we not apparating?"

"No… he has wards with a mile and a half's radius, and his wife is a muggle, doesn't like the mess the floo makes."

"Then how are we-" I stopped at the bottom of the steps, and for a moment I forgot how to close my mouth.

There was a super car sitting across the road, I'd recognise it anywhere. Black with a thick red splitter right through the middle, sleek and dangerous looking… also worth over 1 million quid.

"Sirius!"

"What?" he paused, unlocking the car. "Oh, right, yeah. Mary lived in a muggle district, I needed a car to get around in, like I said - I have too much money on my hands and a lot of living to do. I think I'm allowed to buy one stupid thing, Harry."

I gaped at him, pointing uselessly at the back end of the car.

"It was gonna be a Lamborghini Mecielago… then a Ferrari Enzo…" he continued, jumping onto the sidewalk.

"But you didn't."

"And very nearly a Jaguar X3220-"

"But you didn't! Sirius you bought a fucking Bugatti Veyron - what the hell is wrong with you?!"

He almost pouted at me over the roof of the car, where he leaned against it. "It has a top speed of 253 miles per hour!" he whined.

"So? Where the hell are you going to get to test that out?" I paused, walking around to the side of the car as he disappeared into the driver's seat, not caring that I was standing in the middle of a road. "Where did you even manage to get your hands on one of these?"

"I know people." I could see him smirking through the dark windows.

"You - It'll get… what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"It does naught to sixty in two point five seconds." He pointed out languidly, then went quiet for a few seconds before leaning over and pushing the passenger side door open with a click. "Hurry up and get in, will you? It'll take us a couple of hours to get there! Why do you think I got you up at eight this morning?"

"I thought you were being an arse." I said, gingerly getting into the passenger's seat. I had no confidence in his driving skills whatsoever.

"No, it had a purpose." He started up the engine with a roar; I put my seatbelt on quickly before he could pull out. "It's ten now, we'll be there in time for lunch - I know a shortcut!"

"Through the country, I'm guessing?"

"Oh aye!" he said in an accent akin to some one from the West Country, some joke toward farmers, I guess… or Yorkshire, one of those. If he started talking in a southern accent I'd know to worry.

"Isn't it a …four hour drive to Bolton? Or does it involve magically appearing in Lancashire and bumbling the rest of the way there in this monstrosity?"

"Yes." He said bluntly, then he stroked the dash board. "And it's beautiful - in'it? Not a monstrosity."

"Yes." I agreed, then frowned, looking at him as he turned out of the block of houses into the main street. "Did you just say 'in'it'?" he didn't answer, putting his foot down.

I was forced back into my seat. I'd literally just blinked, for a second, and when I reopened them there was a large stretch of road ahead of us with mountains towering down in every direction, and rolling green hills going out so far I couldn't see much else… until it hit a mountain. "Like I said, we're using apparation to cut most of it out… I just really wanted to try this thing out on the winding roads… they'll be pretty clear this far out - it's gonna rain."

I rolled my eyes. I should have known there was a reason why he didn't just apparate to the barriers and walk the mile other than the fact that he's a lazy git.

* * *

_'Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world, and the seven seas. Everybody's, looking for something… some of them want to use you… some of the want to get used by you… some of them want to be abused!'_

The drums kicked in and vibrated through the car, and under my feet where they were pushed into makeshift footholds I'd made either side of the chair, slumped down in my seat with my knees on the dashboard, obstructing the fans on one side. "Is Ginny at Scarlet's?" I asked, suddenly remembering that James Copperfield also meant Scarlet.

He nodded slowly, a sly grin on his face. "Yeah, she stopped over last night didn't she? I need to talk to James about the ministry as well. I need a favour and he can help - it involves you, actually."

"Oh?" we went through a tunnel, and with the windows down, the sound of the engine seemed that more immense.

Sirius was grinning like a kid at Christmas. "You see_? You see_! _This_ is why I wanted this car!" he kicked it up a gear, glad for the clear roads. "Oh - and, now you won't know any of this, you were brought up in the muggle world, but purebloods, half-blood's, whatever, if you have wizarding parents, and grew up listening to stories… fairytales… you'd have known this, but you didn't so…" he sighed. "There's a difference between fairytales and the real world, Harry."

He paused again, and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "You'll… change, now the, when you… when the change is complete, there will be a period of time, anywhere between an hour and 24, where you will just… not be there. At all. Any longer than a day and… well we don't want to think about it. During that period of time, you will… cease to exist. You're just vacant, not there. I don't know where your mind will go - I just hope it isn't too bad.' He stopped talking for a full minute and a half. "I … when you wake up - you'll be in more pain than you can imagine."

"More than what I have been?" I asked, scrunching up my face.

"I don't know, probably. Your body'll be trying to adjust to being dead - everything will shut down and you will need a new source of energy for your magic."

"Blood?" I had my eyes firmly set on the road, and so did he.

"Probably." He whispered.

"We'll be right there the entire time. We can physically be there, but the transition usually lasts around a week, so you'll have to be locked away - you'll just hurt someone otherwise - you won't be in your own mind it's like… when Remus is Moony."

I nodded slowly as he continued on. "What I'm going for is one of the observation rooms on the top floor. The walls are 10 inches of concrete and steel, magic resistant, you won't be able to cast any spells in there, or blow your way out." I raised my eyebrows fractionally, wondering why I'd want to. "There is a platform, and a well protected glass panel on the right hand side. We'll be watching you the entire time, you're completely safe. It's one-way, so I doubt you'll be able to see us through it. They're normally used to contain people like the Cappellas, so they can't harm anyone, and werewolves… vampires - the bad one's I mean."

"We actually have some Vampires on the Auror squad."

I almost scowled. "But… If Remus has trouble holding down a job then why…"

"Vampires are built for destruction, Harry. Their skin is unbreakable, their sight is sharper than any living thing in the wizarding, and muggle world, their hearing is as good as, if not better than a werewolf's, they're faster than Unicorns, and a hell of a lot smarter than any normal wizard. They think differently, automatically assess the situation, exits, weak points, they can find the flaw in any plan and bring it down like a ton of bricks - they're stronger than belief, you should know that."

He looked at me with a half-grin and I winced. "Sorry."

"Wasn't your fault."

I scanned the road ahead, and saw the road curving up over a hill then around the side of a mountain. The hairpin turn ahead looked rather tight, and I saw Sirius switch gear beside me. He had an almost malicious look on his face. I sat up quickly, which was rather difficult considering the way I'd managed to arrange myself.

"No! Don't you dare! It was scary enough the first time!"

He snorted, slowing slightly as we neared the turn. "Scary?"

"Well I didn't know you were going to do it the first time, did I? I thought you were being a -"

I stopped talking altogether as he turned the wheel the wrong way in the barest of fractions, flooring the throttle to drift around the hairpin turn.

I had to admit, he was quite good at it. It made me wonder what the hell he'd been like before Azkaban, and how the hell he even got into motorsports to begin with, being pureblooded and everything.

We got to Auror Copperfield's house for a quarter to 12, mostly due to Sirius' fascination with driving down the middle of valleys between close mountains. Then of course we ended up staying there until about 8, by which point Sirius noticed that Ginny looked rather ill, and she ended up on my lap driving back.

Half of me didn't mind (the same half that knew that Ginny not feeling well would make him drive a bit more carefully, lest he have his dashboard re-decorated), the other half seriously hated him for not so much as asking me before saying that that'd be okay.

* * *

It was at breakfast the next day (with Ginny harbouring one hell of a hang over), that my magic had begun playing up again, only this time it was a lot harder to hide from the others. Hermione noticed almost immediately and I was left trying to explain why my hand was glowing. Ginny'd seen it before, but wasn't all that bothered at the time, she'd asked a lot of questions, but mostly just let me get on with it.

Of course Hermione's known for being one to ask too many questions. "When did this start?"

"July." I said, putting down my fork and flexing my fingers.

"…do you know why? I mean, you told Dumbledore, didn't you?"

"Harry?" Sirius turned to look at me from the sink.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "Sorry." I wasn't ready to tell Ron and Hermione yet, no matter how bad I felt about keeping them under the radar.

I closed my right hands into a fist, but it didn't stop, carrying down lower over my knuckles. I winced. Sirius threw the cloth he was holding back onto the draining board and walked over to grab my forearm, careful not to touch the electricity growing between my fingertips, trying to get a closer look.

I balanced my elbow on the table top and spread my fingers out. "Try relaxing, and concentrating on that fixed point. Just… imagine its not there, see what you want to see."

"That's what they tell you to do when you're learning wandless magic." said Hermione from my direct right; she was leaning forward across the table, fascinated.

"That's basically what it is, but it hurts." replied Sirius.

She looked confused, her brow furrowed, thinking she'd missed something.

"Burns." I elaborated. "Like I've got my hand in an oven."

She pursed her lips, frowning at my hand, thinking hard. She was obviously trying to help, but I doubted she would think of anything. Sirius squeezed my arm. "Keep trying. I'm going to go floo Dumbledore."

He nodded at Remus as he passed him in the doorway and he sighed in response, pulling up a chair at the end of the table. He watched me carefully, looking weary. Ginny was doing the same, sitting opposite me, only her eyes were on the electric bolts jumping between my fingers in a band of plasmic energy. She looked mesmerized.

"Ginny?"

Her eyes flickered to mine for a moment, then, as if in a trace, she reached forward. Remus' chair skidded back across the stone floor, clattering to the ground with a loud bang as he lunged forward to stop her. "No! Ginny, don't-"

The tips of her fingers broke through the magic surrounding my hand. I felt a small jolt in my stomach. She looked up to me, her eyes catching mine as she threaded her fingers through mine. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling the places where her skin touched mine tingle dully. I couldn't figure out if it was because she was lacing her fingers with mine or because the electric blue energy was jumping onto her skin.

Remus stood transfixed, wide-eyed, staring at the spot where mine and Ginny's hands connected. "That's- that's not… It should hurt you too, Ginny, are you all right?" he asked urgently, ready to pull her back.

She tilted her head. "Yes." She squeezed my hand. "It's…warm. Nothing more."

Remus' fingers were going white with the force with which he was gripping the table, unsure of what to do. "But-"

Sirius walked back into the kitchen, accompanied by Albus Dumbledore, who stopped just past the doorway, and smiled brightly at her entwined fingers. "Fascinating." He crouched down by my side level with the table. He studied the way the magic rippled and twisted around our fingers, flashing different shades of bright blue, highlighted tones making it look beyond surreal.

He tapped an odd beat on the table with his index finger and middle finger absently as he watched. "Interesting." He looked back at Sirius, who seemed as surprised as Remus. "You know I never would have guessed."

His fingers slowed, counting down, each gentle knock sounding like a horrendous drum beat to my ears.

_Tap. Tap… Tap…_

Ginny's hand suddenly snapped back from mine. "Ow!" she yelped, cradling her hand in the other. I clenched my fist, and the magic diminished.

"Gin? Are you okay what happened?" her eyes shimmered as they flicked back to mine. Pain. I'd hurt her.

Dumbledore was on his feet faster than I'd have thought possible for a man even half his age. He was at Ginny's side, pulling up a chair where he took her wrists and gently tugged one away from the other. The strong coppery smell of blood wafted over to me and I recoiled. Sirius gripped my shoulder tightly behind me.

"Get me a damp cloth, would you Remus?"

Remus grabbed a tea towel and soaked it under the tap, rinsing it out before handing it over. Dumbledore folded it neatly and gently pressed it to the hand that had been in mine. Ginny hissed, and the tears n her eyes threatened to overflow. "I know, my dear, it will sting, just wait for a moment, if you can." She nodded, and looked away from where the headmaster held her wrist gently in one hand and pressed the cloth into her palm with the other.

She held the other blood soaked hand aloft, and unmoving away from her. Everybody sat in silence for two minutes, where Ginny's leg began to bounce, and her face scrunched up in pain.

Then he carefully pulled back the cloth, revealing a small mark that wound around her wrist and the back of her hand, scorched red like a burn, but with electric blue ridges and dips in swirling patterns throughout. Dumbledore gingerly wiped away the remaining splotches of blood away around the swollen, red mark disfiguring her right arm.

Remus stared, falling back heavily into a nearby seat. "It's true."

Dumbledore nodded grimly. "The first mark."

Ginny's hands were shaking. "The first… what? I don't understand. What just happened?"

Hermione seemed to have a vague idea, walking around the table to get a better look at the mark. Everybody was silent, and Ginny got annoyed. "What? What's going on?"

Hermione traced the lines on the back of Ginny's wrist without actually touching them. "I've read - of the legend I mean… I just never thought that it could ever be true, much less happen to Ginny."

Ginny glared at her and she flinched, pulling up a chair beside her. "It's a mark that some people are born with, others acquire it with time. It's supposed to map out your 'destiny'. Good, or bad, you're destined to do something great." She pointed at the mark.

Ginny looked at Dumbledore. "And you knew this would happen?''

He nodded, looking her in the eye. "You are the 7th child of a 7th child, to be honest, the moment Molly found out she was having a girl I was sure you were meant for something great. Of what, I'm not sure."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're lying, you wouldn't be so at ease if you didn't know."

He smiled. "Maybe. But it's not my place to interfere. You need to find that out for yourself."

She looked at Remus, who nodded in confirmation. "How did you know?"

He hesitated. "When I was away on that mission, I spent a lot of time around very powerful witches and wizards, some not at all connected to either Professor Dumbledore or Voldemort, Vampires, Werewolves. There were rumors of a young witch, whose destiny was intertwined with - well, yours Harry."

He looked at me, and so did every one else. I felt the sudden need to disappear. "Why did my magic do that to her hand?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it's just something to watch out for."

_

* * *

_

A/N:

_ I have a list: __**1:**__ xD _**Buggati Veyrons**_ are freaking awesome - I've seen one have a one mile drag race with a_** Euro fighter Typhoon**_ on _**Top Gear**_ - you just have to deal with that an the fact that Sirius is a petrol head. He got his bike back from Hagrid too; I kept that within the timeframe… I generally love it when my dad starts driving like a mental case, but, well Sirius is an _actual _mental case, so that'd be pretty damned scary, to be honest. You'd constantly think he was going to crash._

_**2:**__ The song was _**Sweet Dreams****(are made of these) by Marilyn Manson**. _**3:**__ If you were wondering what was going through Ginny's head at the beginning when she was laughing at his comment on his pants then well Scarlets really dirty minded, and in her head, she heard her saying 'Or is it?'. Because I've been in a similar situation before, and I have a made who's just as bad._

_**4:** I got a 3 month old ginger tomcat called __**'The Stig'**__ and he's really cute =] Though I'm sure he's not a full shilling… I'm covered in scratches, and he's currently curled up on my lap inside my _**Suzuki Relentless**_ hoody (it's zipped up), and he likes it in there. If the choice of name and jacket says anything about me and my love for bikes, cars (and _**Top Gear**_), then I hope you come to a good conclusion. _

_Cliffhanger! YAY! ….or not? No. Either way, __**you may be pleased to know that I wrote a little preview of Harry and Ginnys relationship**__… it's a scene completely inspired by something I once did with my ex-boyfriend to get warm. Apparently it's 'inventive' he thought so anyway =P So yeah, __**there is a little 'clip' from **_**Chapter Sixteen**_** of this story, entailing a lot of H/G fluffehness on my **_**Yahoo Group **_**page - the link to which is at the top of my profile, and if you're already a member, here's the link to the actual preview… that being if you didn't click on the alert in your email box =] **_

…_There was a lot of bold stuff in that…_

_REVIEW! …and I'll update faster this time =]_


	9. Finale

_Quote: 'Why, why won't you help us? You know what happens, why not change it?'_

'_Because this is a fixed point in time. I can't change it. You die. Tonight. On Mars.'_

_=D From the Doctor Who, Waters of Mars trailer… can't wait until tomorrow now, The End of Time, may actually die, especially after they showed the first couple of minutes of the Christmas special on Children in Need, I wanna see the rest of it =[_

_Also really hate this chapter, so when your reading it, if you come across something you don't like – please keep in mind that I also despise it very, very much! _

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

Part One: Red Sky

_**Chapter Nine: Finale**_

_*Ginny's POV*_

_

* * *

_

Previously(I keep forgetting to put this in):

_She looked at Remus, who nodded in confirmation. "How did you know?"_

_He hesitated. "When I was away on that mission, I spent a lot of time around very powerful witches and wizards, some not at all connected to Professor Dumbledore or Voldemort, Vampires, Werewolves. There were rumours of a young witch, whose destiny was intertwined with - well, yours Harry."_

_He looked at me, and so did every one else. I felt the sudden need to disappear. "Why did my magic do that to her hand?" I asked._

_He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it's just something to watch out for."_

* * *

Harry hadn't stopped apologising for whatever had happened in the kitchen all week, and by now it was definitely getting annoying… to put it politely. It didn't even hurt anymore! I mean, it had at the time, and it'd throbbed a little afterwards like a normal burn but after that there was nothing, just a dull pink mark carved into my hand. It was still slightly raised against my hand, but Harry's Healers had taken a quick look at it and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

It was just a scar. They weren't even sure what had caused it. Or so says mum, anyway. I'm sure they're holding something back.

Thankfully mum had been rather preoccupied with Bill, who was trying to get her to back off with organising a wedding that most likely wasn't going to happen for another 18 months. She insisted that 'every minute counts' and they'd feel better getting most of it done now, so there was less to worry about nearer the actual date. The problem with that being that they hadn't actually _set _a date yet.

Fleur didn't seem to mind how obsessive mum was being, she liked it, apparently.

I could hear Hermione hounding Harry in the other room. She'd restrained herself while he was still recovering, but now that he seemed alright she was after his blood. So to speak…

"So where were you for most of the summer, Harry?"

"How the hell did you manage to get so tall? You're almost as tall as Ron now…."

This time I couldn't come to his rescue, suddenly finding myself being pulled out of the front door by Scarlet, who had her phone clutched tightly in the other hand. "We're on our way out now. Be with you in a sec babe."

"With who? Adam!" I grabbed Adam's arm as he appeared at the staircase and dragged him with us.

He didn't seem to mind, just letting me drag him out of Headquarters to the street out front, where Scarlet was pulling me toward the corner of the road. I could hear whoever it was she was waiting for coming well before they actually showed up, loud music with a pounding backbeat blasting through a set of large speakers as a black Saxo came belting around the corner from the junction ahead so fast it almost went over on two wheels.

I could see Steven in the passenger's seat with his window open and his elbow balanced at the window with his fingers curled around the roof of the car. Pulling up in front of us with enough force to shoot him forward in his seat, I jumped back off the curb just in case as he got out. "Orite, mate I'll see you later." He smacked his hand on the car door twice and his mate said a quick goodbye before skidding off.

I watched, with a slight grimace, as he draped an arm around Scarlet's neck and pulled her into his side. She had a massive grin on her face. Holding my hand out to Adam, he took it with a small smirk and let me bend my arm up so they were clasped by our shoulders as I leaned slightly into him. It'd been a long week.

"So," he started, "how're things?"

I laughed. "Fine on my end, what about you? The wedding's in two weeks, has your mum lost the plot yet?"

He scrunched up his nose. "Rosie's bridesmaid dress came… only it was 'completely wrong' so they have to go back for a last minute fitting and… well it was difficult last time, now she's teething."

"Aww, bless her, how is she? I haven't seen her since Easter." Rosie was Adam's niece. His sister, Juliette, had had her about a year ago at 17, her mum had gone ballistic. Her boyfriend, or rather now fiancé, Scarlet's brother, Damien who had been two years older than her at 19, had proposed to her when she was nearly at the end of her 3rd trimester. The shock of it had _literally_ sent her into labour. Adam had told me the story with tears of mirth in his eyes. They hadn't even had a chance to get to St Mungo's, all over within an hour. Adam's mum had had to get a new dining table.

She was a sweet little girl though, bright blue eyes and long, thick, light brown hair. Incredibly chubby cheeks and cute little toes, like most.

"Well she's teething en't she? Poor la'al things in pain, crying all through the night… Keeps gumming me fingers. Don't mind, like. Teeth an't c'em through yet."

I shook my head, grinning ruefully at him. "What about your sister? Is she freaking out?"

He shrugged, or tried to; we were walking rather close together. "She's not bothered."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" the disbelief so clear in my voice that he laughed.

"Yeah, she's been letting her mum organise it. She's not very girly. She chose the colours, and the theme, then left Damien and mum to it. We practically had to drag her out to look for a wedding dress."

I whined loudly. "Why can't she be my soon-to-be sister-in-law?" I complained. "Fleur's gonna have me in some vile frilly pink dress, I can see it now."

He snorted. "Probably. You don't look half bad in dresses though, you should wear them more often." He added seriously.

I shoved him off the curb. "Oh, shut up."

Steven's loud scouring accent broke through the sound of the cars going by and the city not too far away. Adam visibly winced, making a noise of disgust.

"Do you really hate him that much?"

"Yeah… 'im and 'is _stu_pid scouse accent. I mean he's muggle for Merlin's sake – muggle!"

I laughed, tugging him in the direction of number 12. "Oh leave it alone."

He shook his head slowly as we came to a stop outside the house. Scarlet only got a few steps ahead of us before complaining that we weren't following her into town.

"Ginny!"

I shook my head. "No! I'm not allowed out as it is; you dragged me out to pick him up, now I'm going back inside, alright? I'll probably see you later anyway…" I folded my arms around my stomach against the wind picking up around me and ran up the steps to Grimmauld Place two at a time, quickly, so she couldn't try and twist my arm.

Sirius was due back at any minute with some things that were to arrive from Mary's today. I really didn't want to get in the way of all of that. You didn't have to be a seer to anticipate a lot of swearing, destruction and complaining. As if on cue, there was a loud bark and a series of scraping sounds as a dog's nails scraped along the wooden floor in the hall outside. Luckily I'd made it into the kitchen by this point, and was well out of the way.

Adam jumped up on the kitchen counter, grabbing a packet of chocolate covered digestive biscuits off of the table on his way. "That'll be Zeus, will it?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows before taking a bite out of one of the biscuits.

Mary was seen running down the hall toward the noise seconds later, on her knees half visible in the doorway. "Hello!" she cooed. There was a long pause where a lot of whining was heard from the dog, and a loud bang as they knocked something over, which inevitably led to Mrs Black's screeching filling the house.

Wincing, I watched with vague amusement as Remus appeared to help Sirius pull the curtains shut over his 'dear old mum'.

"…What the hell have they been feeding you? It's only been a week - Sirius he's like a bloody bear!" said Mary lowly as the sound stopped penetrating the usually peaceful air.

"Oh I know, he's lost all his puppy fur as well." He popped his head around the Kitchen door. "Here, Ginny, come see Zeus!"

Relenting, I slowly made my way out into the hall. A Rottweiler, literally, as Mary said, the size of a small bear, was lying on his back with its front paws crossed over one another and his tongue lolling out to the side. Seeing me out of the corner of his eye, he rolled over and bounded over to me, my back hitting the wall behind me rather hard as he went up on his back legs and put his paws on my shoulders. I couldn't help the noise of disgust as he licked me from the side of my neck right up over my left eye, then looked quite pleased with himself, tail wagging quite prominently behind him.

Sirius grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. "Get off." he half grunted at him as he brought the dog back onto all four legs.

He leaned quite heavily on my legs after I'd gotten over the initial shock of how big he was and stroked him. I could hear Adam sniggering in the kitchen. Sirius shook his head. "Stupid git. I'll be back in a second; I just have to bring this stuff in." He pointed toward the door and waited for my nod before disappearing back out again, Mary following behind him.

"_What happened to two weeks? You haven't finished his 'house'."_

Harry was next to appear, yawning widely as he ran his fingers through his already messy hair. I scoffed in amusement. "Have you just got up?"

He closed his mouth mid-yawn and shook his head. "No…"

I smirked at him through the banisters. "Liar."

Remus tilted his head back to look at Harry with a frown as he continued down the stairs, arms folded. "You better bloody hadn't have, it's two in the afternoon!"

It took Harry to get to the bottom of the stairs before he noticed Zeus, and even then it was only because he was blocking the entrance to the kitchen. It was surprisingly easy to doubt what he was supposed to be when he was constantly contradicting himself. Zeus himself had stilled well before Harry had come into sight, but it was still a shock when he jumped up and growled at Harry, teeth bared.

Remus was about to step in when Harry crouched down in front of the dog and pushed him into a sitting position, yanking its head down by the collar until he was lying down. "Don't be stupid, I'm not a threat…" he mumbled, one hand over the dog's neck as he scratched behind his ears.

Catching the questioning look I gave him he shrugged up at me and mumbled something about how the dog could sense what he was. Of course by this point the dog was licking the back of his wrist, so it had obviously realised that Harry was a friend, not anything otherwise. Harry stood pretty soon after that, grimacing as he did, one hand just below his ribs.

"You alright?" asked Remus carefully, stepping forward over the dog.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"If something's wrong, Harry, we need to know." said Remus sharply.

But he shook his head, putting on a smile so clearly fake I almost hit him. "Nothing's wrong." I wasn't the only one to notice, however, judging by the way Remus' eyes followed the back of Harry's head, calculating silently exactly what could be wrong as Harry disappeared into the cooler to get a drink.

* * *

It was later on in the week that I noticed Harry with the exact same grimace on his face, one hand over his ribs, only this time he was slouched in his seat in the drawing room. Mary was on the sofa opposite her TV, in control of the remote, Harry just going with the flow.

"So you've lived as a muggle for the past 15 years?" he asked her, tilting his head lazily in her direction.

She nodded. "Yes. It was hard to adjust to everything at first, but I'm a fast learner." She smiled over at him. "I had Joanne, she's muggle… she really helped me out."

"You've missed a lot." He said quietly. "With the war and everything."

"I don't care about the war." She admitted. "I was more bothered about missing so much of your life, I mean look at you now! You're 16 - it's like looking at James… you looked like him when you were a baby, but it's even more obvious now. And of course you have your mother's eyes."

"Didn't I always?"

Sirius appeared next to me holding a half empty can of Lager. "Nahh, you had hazel eyes like your dad up until you were one, then they started to go green like your mum's." He patted me on the shoulder. "Come sit down, don't just stand there!"

He began to pull me into the room; I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding. "Actually I think I might just-"

"Oh stop it, sit down." He let go of me in front of the armchair opposite Harry's, then plonked himself down next to Mary. She immediately draped her legs over his thighs and stretched herself out along the sofa, taking his can to have a rather long drink before handing it back with a smirk. He grinned back.

I had to wonder when they were planning on telling people they were together…

I was pretty much forced into my seat as Zeus came bounding it, pushing past me to jump on Sirius, who put his arms out in front of himself to stop the dogs paws from going anywhere undesirable. "What? What do you want? I just put you out!" he complained, hands on either side of the dogs massive head.

Zeus whined and curled up on top of Sirius' feet on the floor, head level with Mary's hand so he could nudge it from where it hung off the edge of the sofa until she began to stroke him. Sirius scoffed. "It's like a child - why is he so needy?"

She frowned at him. "Well pardon him for loving you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you love me, you don't follow me around all day then jump on me when I least expect it." There was a long pause. "Well…"

She bent one leg to kick the side of his leg. "Sirius!"

"Ow, what? That hurt!" he was laughing at the scowl on her face.

Harry pulled a face and stood up across from me. "Yeah… I'll talk to you later." He managed to grab my arm as I went past, and I just managed to whisper 'everyone knows you're together' at them before we vanished out the door. It definitely shut them up. It's not my fault they're blindingly obvious.

He didn't say anything when we first got upstairs, running one hand through his hair and sitting down heavily on the edge of his bed.

"Okay?" I asked, pushing my right knee into the corner of his bed, dropping down to sit on it comfortably.

He pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes and leant forward, elbows on his knees. "I'm fine." he said, turning his head toward me, though it was still tilted slightly toward the ground. His throat sounded sore. "Just can't be bothered with all the noise."

"Sirius isn't that bad!" I laughed.

"No…" his leg was bouncing. "It's everything… I can hear – everything."

There was a long pause while I tried to understand what he was getting at, but he seemed to give up, jumping up to press a button on something sitting at his bedside table, it looked similar to something Adam had in his room. I soon realised, as the music came blasting from different points in the room, and he relaxed slightly, that the only reason why he could deal with the loud music was because it drowned everything else out.

"Right…" He nodded from across the room, which surprised me, because I barely heard myself speak.

He fell back against the wall and closed his eyes. He seemed to have been getting increasingly quieter as the week had gone on, and even Sirius and Remus had been willing to admit that something was wrong with him. But he wouldn't tell anyone what it was; I was just left hoping he wasn't still hung up on what had happened to my hand. There really was nothing wrong with it. Just a scar.

I winced as the music picked up and the singer literally roared, and so did Harry, but I doubted that it was for the same reason. My eyes dropped to his chest as one hand ran across the bottom of his ribs, obviously in pain, but he stayed silent.

"Go on." I said, not taking my eyes off of him. "What are you thinking about?"

I watched him wince slightly at my words, tilting his head back against the wall to look at the ceiling. "I don't know if I can." he said quietly, but I could just catch how hoarse and sore his voice sounded. Almost like he had a cold.

"Can't be that hard." I said reasonably, standing up and walking over to him.

He glanced over at me briefly, but upon seeing me looking right back at him he looked back to the ceiling and took a deep breath. "Apparently there is a chance that I might not wake up after I do die, and… well, if I do there's going to be a few things I'm going to regret not having done."

I resisted the urge to joke about how most people didn't wake up after they die, seeing the look on his face as he chanced looking back down at me. He looked scared. "Yeah… I would." I agreed.

He gave me a look I couldn't quite place, and turned the music down a bit. "What?" I asked.

He didn't reply, looking at me through slightly narrowed eyes, regarding me closely. It was making me feel rather unnerved, pushing my hair behind my ear I looked away, a second too late, it seemed, as he appeared right in front of me. His right hand swept through my hair, slowly remerging by my neck where his thumb brushed across my jaw. That's when his eyes connected with mine, and he scrunched up his nose. "I'm going to regret this later." he mumbled.

"What?" I asked him again, with more urgency than before, getting annoyed.

I was a bit too slow with the uptake, almost squeaking as his lips first connected with mine, but then my mind went blank and my eyes slid closed, barely feeling the pressure of his left hand on my lower back. He seemed to be radiating heat, a theory that was only amplified by the fact that as my fingers closed around his upper arm my palm, where the mark was, began to burn.

Not in a painful way either.

It ended too quickly, and I found myself digging my fingers into his arm as he pulled back. He looked slightly nervous, if not worried. "Oh." was all I could bring myself to say.

He gave a half nod, and took a step back, grinning over at me sheepishly. "Yeah, I thought that."

Again, it took me longer than usual to figure out what was going on, but, quicker this time, I realised he'd interpreted my 'oh' wrong. Shaking myself out of it, I followed him forward and pulled him down towards me with my free hand to the back of his neck, kissing him again. "That was a good 'oh', you dolt." I managed to mumble.

By that point he seemed to have gotten the point, if you took into account the fact that he'd wrapped both arms around my back, pulling me up so I didn't have to crane my neck. But then of course Ron, with his brilliant timing - ruined it.

"Oi! Ginny? Are you up here?! James wants you!" I could hear him thumping up the stairs.

Harry didn't let me go right away, an odd expression on his face as he pulled back. He let me go, and dropped his hands onto my neck, on top of my hair. "Ginny-"

I shook my head. "Later." I hissed, pushing him back a little bit so I could stand up, running my hands through my hair and hoping to dear god that Ron wouldn't notice how red my face was as he blundered in through Harry's bedroom door.

He looked between us with an annoyed look on his face. "Ginny! Come on, he says that this is important."

I smiled at him. "Yeah, alright, I'll be down in a minute."

"Go now, Ginny, he'll be leaving soon." said Ron in a perfect imitation of mum. I clenched my teeth.

"Fine. Harry, I'll talk to you in a bit, alright?" He nodded back at me, and I could feel his eyes on my back as I left.

My mind was reeling -I couldn't just walk away, could I? How awkward was it going to be if we didn't talk about that? Groaning to myself, I tugged at my hair. What the hell was I going to do? For fucksake what did it even mean?!

Shaking my head violently to clear it, I ran down the rest of the stairs as fast as I could. James was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Come on, Ginny. We're going to Adam's." He took my hand and walked me over to the fireplace.

"Now? Why?"

He gave me a handful of floo powder and pushed me into the fire. "You need to see him. Now, before he overanalyzes and gets stupid ideas about you."

"But why would he-"

"Now, Ginny, I'll be right behind you."

Sighing, I threw the powder into the flames. "5 Victoria Street, Carlisle." I said clearly. I was immersed in green flames, thrown through the floo system to Adam's house in the North-West.

Losing my balance and hitting the carpet in the main living room hard, I was immediately struck by how quiet it was. John, Adam's dad was just visible with his back to them in the kitchen while Sylvia, his wife, had a forced smile on her face, waiting for them at the door.

"Adam's in his room, Ginny." she said quietly as Auror Copperfield walked up to her and hugged her.

I was half way up the stairs when I heard him ask 'how are you holding up' but just missed her reply as they vanished into the kitchen and I reached the landing. Adam's door was locked and bolted. After it was obvious that he couldn't hear me knocking over the racket his speakers were making I gave in and pulled out my wand, unlocking it with a flick of my wrist.

I found him sitting back in a large leather chair, feet up in a reclining position, an annoyed scowl marring his face with a grimace, his forehead crinkled between his eyes and his nose scrunched up. His lips were pursed into a fine line as he held a black controller similar to Harry's in his right hand by his ear, eyes fixed on the screen and his finger held firmly on the right trigger. The rattle of gun shots rang clear over the music.

"Adam?" I shut the door with my back to it, both palms flat against the cold, hard wood as I leant back against it.

His eyes flicked over to me for a second or so before going back to the screen mounted against the wall opposite him. He dropped his hand into his lap and arranged both hands around the controller, but didn't reply.

"Adam, is everything alright?"

He still didn't respond, pulling a face as he slammed his thumb down on one of the buttons. I pushed back from the door and stood in front of the screen with my arms folded, "Adam! Don't ignore me, I know you can hear me."

"Move, Ginny."

I stood my ground, and when he didn't say anything else I turned around and pulled the plug that I knew was attached to the stream of extension leads running along the back of his room out of the wall.

He looked outraged. "Ginny! What the hell are you doing?"

"What do you mean 'what am I doing'? What are you doing? James obviously took me here because there's something wrong with you, I'm just trying to help. Why are you ignoring me? What's happened now?"

His jaw set and his fingers began to go white with the force at which he was gripping the controller. "My auntie Julie died this morning." He said bluntly.

I felt the colour drain from my face as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped drastically. "Oh, Adam I-" I didn't know what to say, faltering slightly. Walking over to him, I braced my left knee on the side of his chair and pulled the controller out of his hand gently, leaning over him. "I'm so sorry."

He didn't say anything.

"What happened, she was only 23…" I sat down on his knees and watched him with a sad frown. I'd only ever seen Julie a few times, she'd always been in school, at work, or away for as long as I'd known her. But I've always known how much she meant to Adam.

"She was murdered, in her home in Essex, her boyfriend found her when he got back from town with his mates."

I blanched. Killed? Why would anyone want to kill her? She was a muggle, on Adam's dad's side, in an apprenticeship with a designer in London for Merlin's sake! "But why – do you know what happened?"

"You don't want to know." he said quietly, with an almost dark tone to it.

I managed to get him to look up at me, however briefly, and gave him a pleading look. His face contorted slightly, and I could see his eyes shimmering in the low lamplight of his room, refusing to look at me as he exhaled in a slow, deliberate sigh.

"She was found with old runes carved into her stomach, forehead and lower arms, in a pool of her own blood, with the words 'We're starting small. Bring Ginevra Weasley to us.' written across the bedroom wall." He swallowed hard and it was all I could do to keep my breathing even as I sat back in shock.

But he didn't stop.

"They'd layed her out across the bed, sheets completely saturated, blood… everywhere. It took Greg, her boyfriend, half an hour to gain the strength to floo James, who sorted everything from then." He finally looked me in the eye and I immediately wished he hadn't, seeing the anguish there.

"They think it was those people that were after you, and Bellatrix Lestrange. They wanted _you_, so they killed _her,_ to get to you, through us. All because we were protecting _you_!" he spat out the last part, shaking, anger beginning to seep through.

He was glaring at me, a look of utter disgust on his face. I recoiled, backing up and dropping the controller onto the floor. I tried to open my mouth to say something, _anything_ to apologise, to say that I'd do anything to take her place - that I was there for him. Something to make him feel better.

But the way he was glaring at me with such hatred made my stomach lurch painfully and my heart rate sky rocket. He was my best friend. I loved him more than anything in the world and he was looking at me like he'd very much like to kill me.

I chocked on thin air, I needed out_. Now_. Backing up and grabbing the door handle, I ran.

I didn't really think as I ran straight out of the front door, leaving it wide open as I doubled over and leant against the low wall at the end of his garden. I let my forehead drop onto my crossed forearms where my hands gripped the wall. I could feel my breath slowly being taken away, chest tightening as my heart beat accelerated.

'_They wanted _you_ so they killed _her!'

I closed my eyes tight and tried to breathe, but the air didn't seem to reach as far as my lungs.

'We were protecting you – and they killed her!"

I felt tears slip down my heated face as I dropped back on my knees and curled up against the wall, knees into my chest and my ankles crossed. How could this have happened? They killed my best friend's favourite auntie with the intent of getting to me, with the promise of more if they couldn't have me. How twisted was that? They could have done much worse. Everyone else was so heavily protected that relatives like her, being muggle, were the only ones they could get to.

James came running out seconds later and was crouching down in front of me, hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him through water logged eyes, my face crumpled. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and for him to stop being blurry.

"Why did you take me here when you knew what had happened, that he was going to hate me?"

He pushed my, now damp, fringe out of my face, giving me a sympathetic look. "Because he was the best person to tell you, and he needed to see you. He doesn't hate you, not really. Give him a week or so and he'll be better, I promise. If you hadn't seen him now, he would have sat and festered and thought about every single way it could have been prevented and who to blame it on. I couldn't leave it and let him scream at you for it later. At least seeing you now, he can calm down, and realize that it's not your fault." He paused.

"Don't think too much on it, it's out of your control. They want you, so they're willing to try anything to get to you, even isolating you from your friends and family. Don't ever let that happen, alright? Everything's going to be fine."

I shook my head. "But maybe it would just be better to –"

He scowled. "Don't you dare. You're not going anywhere. Now come on, I'm going to floo you back, then come back here, alright?"

I nodded, but once I accepted his hand to pull me up I realized that flooing would involve going back into the house, and frankly I was scared to. Now that I knew what had happened, I really didn't want to be anywhere near the family, I felt like i just wasn't a part of that anymore. That I wasn't welcome, and rightly so, even if they didn't show it. I was surprised at Adam's dad's restraint. It was his sister after all.

James sighed, seeing the look on my face. "Come on. We can walk to the apparation point." He put a hand on my shoulder and lead me out of the gate.

"Thanks."

* * *

Getting back to Grimmauld Place, the first place I went was up to Harry's room, having momentarily forgotten what had happened before, all of my thoughts focused on Adam and his auntie. The horrible thing was that I could picture it in my head. Julie lying there on red stained sheets and the grotesque letters dripping down the wall like they had back in first year, with the diary. It made me feel sick to my stomach, but I couldn't get the image out of my head, every time I blinked, closing my eyes for just a second, she was there.

Everything was almost silent as I came to the landing, there was still music playing, but it was quiet, and I could only just catch the lyrics, I was thankful for it, I could feel a migraine coming on. Harry's door was open, and I could clearly see him leaning against the door frame at the bathroom, hair tousled as if he'd suddenly moved, one hand still on his ribs. I could see splintered wood on the floor, and an indent of a handprint on the frame.

"Harry will you please tell someone what's wrong with you?" I demanded, angry. It wasn't his fault, but I couldn't help myself. "I know you hate being prodded at but surely 5 minutes with a healer is better than suffering in silence!"

He shook his head. "Its not that – I can… well it is, but I-" he stopped talking and shook his head. "Forget it, there's no point in explaining. It won't matter in a minute or two any way."

I frowned, stepping into the room fully. "What do you mean?"

He laughed, and turned to look at me with a grim expression on his face. "I'm not breathing, Ginny. Haven't been for about an hour and a half." but he seemed to find it funny. "I wasn't when I took you up here before."

For the third time today I was speechless. How did I not notice? I had been standing right in front of him! "What, but – why didn't you tell someone?"

'_I know what lies beneath, I've seen the flash of teeth, conspiring with the reef to sink our ship… the winds a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife, and she could take your life, with one good kiss…' _

He shook his head again, the expression on his face a cross between the sheer amusement he seemed to have for the situation and the same grim look he had on his face before. "There really is no point in worrying them any sooner than they need be."

I couldn't understand why he wouldn't want their help. Right up until he carefully took my wrist and pulled me over to him. Almost automatically, I hadn't really been thinking about it, my hand came to rest right over where his heart should be. At first there was nothing, then I realised that it was just really faint, far and few between. How he was still standing was beyond me.

"It's too late, there's nothing they can do."

Nice. First he kisses me without warning, now he's dying, Adam hates me and those telekinetic freaks are still after me. What a lovely day I've had so far. I felt like crying. Again. And I don't cry, so that's really something, twice in one day.

He smirked down at me, seeing the annoyed scowl I was proudly harbouring. "Go on then, what're you thinking about?" he repeated my words back at me mockingly.

I clenched my hand around the material of his shirt. "When you kissed me earlier, you knew that that was it, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Kinda, yeah. It's sort of a gut feeling."

I blew my fringe out of my eyes so I could see him properly as I tilted my head back. Why did he have to get so tall? "But kissing me… I'm the only girl here other than Hermione. And Hermione's your best friend, so, I mean… Well I know I'd have done a lot worse if I knew I was going to die, I don't blame you."

He laughed. "You're back tracking a little bit." He had both hands on my neck again, over my hair like before. "And who ever said that I kissed you because I knew that this is it? Well…" he stopped. "I did, but mostly because I knew I may never get the chance to again, or be able to pluck up the courage to do it at all, not because you're the closest girl to me."

I smiled. "Well that's nice to know."

He kissed me again, and this time, expecting it, knowing exactly what was going on my brain stopped worrying, and asking me stupid questions while I was trying to kiss him back and let me pretty much melt into him, pulling him closer with the hand grabbing a fistful of his shirt.

'_Can you see the sky turn red? As mornings light breaks over me, know tonight we'll make our bed, at the bottom of the sea.__ I know the ocean speaks, I've heard her call to me. And smiling in my dreams she whispers this… (The stars retreat behind their veil. The clouds are clinging to your sail. The storm is coming can you see?)__'_

It was only as he pulled back and I opened my eyes to him wiping tears off of my creeks with his thumb that I realized that I was crying again. He looked worried. I shook my head and wiped them away with my sleeve, knocking his hand out of the way. "I'm doing that against my own will now, see there's something seriously wrong with me – I feel so pathetic."

"You're not pathetic."

"Right, okay." I said sarcastically.

He seemed to be trying not to laugh, the corner of his mouth quirking slightly. I took a deep breath. "You're gonna be okay, you know." I said. "You're going to come out the other side – you've come too far not to."

"I'd like to hope so."

I let go of his shirt, flattening my palm out across his chest, searching for some fragment of a heart beat. "How long do you think you've-" Of course, as fate would have it, I didn't even get the chance to finish asking the bleeding question before he was dropping down onto one knee, then two, and then I was on my knees in front of him, both hands in his hair, calling his name but not getting a response.

The scar on my hand was burning again, more ferociously than it had done earlier, but I barely noticed, everything was a blur as I watched him slip away like sand between my fingertips.

'_Can you see the _sky turn red_? As morning's light breaks over _me,_ Know tonight we'll make our bed at the bottom of the sea, of the sea, the sky turns red… like _blood_ it covers over me. Soon the sea shall give up her dead. We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea…_Can you see the sky turn red? Can you see the sky turn red? Can you see the sky turn red…?'

* * *

I was barely there as found my way down the stairs 20 minutes later, having levitated him up onto his bed and managed to leave him to go tell someone, anyone, what had happened so that I didn't have to worry as much as I was at this particular moment in time.

Sirius was on his way out of the Kitchen as I reached the small landing 5 stairs from the bottom of the staircase, next to Mrs Black's portrait. "Hey, Ginny. James just told me what happened, look if I'd known I'd have at least warned you before he took you there." He looked up at me from the piece of parchment in his hand. "Ginny? You look like death, what happened?"

I met his gaze, watching as he went pale. "Harry." It was all I had to say, standing there as he brushed past me as he ran up the stairs two at a time, Remus soon behind him, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he went past.

I fell down onto the second to the top step, my head in my hands. My hands were shaking, but so was the rest of me. Ron and Hermione came out of the drawing room to see what was going on, finding me sitting there 'looking like death' as Sirius had put it.

"What's wrong?" Hermione was walking toward me. "Is it Harry, is he okay?"

"No. He's gone." I said quietly, not caring that she didn't know a thing.

Or at least that was as far as I was aware, mildly surprised as she over shone Ron's 'what do you mean, 'gone'?' with "So it's true then? He's a vampire?" she sounded almost exited.

Why I was even slightly surprised that she'd figured it all out was beyond me. "Yeah."

Ron went from pale white to red in a matter of seconds. "What the hell are you on about Hermione?"

She sat down beside me. "So which stage is he at? Because I read up on it and apparently those who delay the transformation spend a lot more time physically 'changing' before they actually-" then it dawned on her, and she went from exited to scared all at once. "Oh, he's-"

"Dead, yes." I said not liking to actually say the words out loud, almost cringing at the way it sounded. I felt Hermione's arm slip around my shoulder, absolutely silent as Ron demanded to know what we were talking about and Mary ran past us up to the shouting coming from upstairs. The healers had arrived. I could only hope that he was going to be okay.

_

* * *

_

A/N: For all those of you thinking 'what the hell, she are not dead! What are be happening?' amongst other brilliantly grammarless sentiments – No, I didn't die, I was just busy. I mean, I have all my coursework, and work with my tutor, and studying for the exams after Christmas, and – and all the fuss about Christmas, not to mention the fact that it's actually SNOWING for once, 4 days from Christmas so I have to take advantage of that. Oh, and (this ones more serious) I recently found out that I've got this phobia thing, which is fuckin lovely – I mean honestly, why the hell cant I just be normal? So my mums putting me through this

CBT_ thing with some lady for it… it's pretty shit, and filling up a lot of my time and brain space._

_**But anyway, story-wise**__: I really fucking hate this chapter, so be nice. I've just noticed that I've spread everyone right out across the country xD I have mates in like Ireland, Essex, London, Carlisle, Newcastle, Liverpool, Blackpool, Devon, Bolton, Manchester, you get my point? So I ended up spreading people out a bit… I was going to put Adam in Newcastle originally, he's meant to be really northern, like… not much south of the border northern, but I changed my mind and put him in Carlisle, because I like the Cumbrian accent like, a lot =] one of my best mates lives in Carlisle, and I love her accent, its dead thick and northern, but my other best mate got 'upset' that I put someone where she lives but not him, so I was forced to put Scarlet near Manchester. _

_Uhm, the song is _**Red Sky**_**, by**_**Thrice**_ – that's where I got the title for the entire first part of the story, so you better go listen to it! 01:06 is where he kisses her, in case you were wondering, I thought about it too much. I like the lyrics _**'the sky turns red… like blood it covers over me. Soon the sea shall give up her dead. We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea' **_So they got to go at the end of the bit where Harry 'dies'. There wasn't much build up to showing that Harry and Ginny like each other, but to be honest, Ginny's obviously always liked him, and I myself, NEVER EVER, under any circumstances let myself linger on the thought of a guy that I really like because it gets to the point where it physically hurts - and Harry was just to stubborn to admit it until he realised that me may never get to tell her._

_And that would be the end of a long A/N =] _**I hope****you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year**_ (because I will be too busy on my new PS3 to even attempt to write chapter 10 until 2010!_

_Jessica_


	10. Caged

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…_

_Quote: 'I don't want to go!' – David Tennants last words on Doctor who =[ - Yes, I do understand that the majority of these Quotes have been Doctor Who related but… deal with it – I'm a Doctor Who geek xD_

_Doctor Who, The End of Time, Part 2. Those words made my friend cry xD She rang me after it in tears and told me she almost made it through but then he said those last words before he regenerated and she blubbered like a baby – right in front of her mum and dad =] I like to laugh at her emotional instability. _

_A/N: Exams? I has them. There done with now though so I'm allowed to write again! Whaaayyyy…. Or not. Whatever, I just got a selection box of Cadburys _((Kraft better hadn't make Cadburys chocolate taste like shit! Cadburys is a brilliant British institution, and British chocolate is the sweetest most sickliest chocolate on the bloody planet – if they ruin it there'll be hell to pay!))_ chocolates and my sister ATE the Curly Wurly and the Buttons before I could get to them =[ I ate a different one though and it's too sweet, made me feel a bit ill, I'm also slightly hyper and that's not a good thing… ahhmm… I'm procrastinating. Fuck it, I have to write this, I wanna write chapter 11! _

_So here's to my beta _**Miss Birdie**_, who got this back to me today even though she's going on holiday tomorrow!_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_Part Two: UnReaL_

Chapter 10: Caged

_

* * *

_

Previously: "I'd like to hope so."

_I let go of his shirt, flattening my palm out across his chest, searching for some fragment of a heart beat. "How long do you think you've-" Of course, as fate would have it, I didn't even get the chance to finish asking the bleeding question before he was dropping down onto one knee, then two, and then I was on my knees in front of him, both hands in his hair, calling his name but not getting a response._

_The scar on my hand was burning again, more ferociously than it had done earlier, but I barely noticed, everything was a blur as I watched him slip away like sand between my fingertips._

'_Can you see the sky turn red? As morning's light breaks over me, Know tonight we'll make our bed at the bottom of the sea, of the sea, the sky turns red… like blood it covers over me. Soon the sea shall give up her dead. We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea…Can you see the sky turn red? Can you see the sky turn red? Can you see the sky turn red…?'_

* * *

Something was wrong, very wrong. Only I couldn't pin-point exactly what that 'wrong' thing was, just that something was creeping up on me and it didn't feel right. Everything was black, quiet, desolate. It was like all life had been ripped out of the world and I was all that was left, on my own, with no way to fight it. But it was getting closer by the second like an approaching wave of just… nothingness, and I was frozen in time with no way of moving out of its path of destruction.

There were whispers, in the darkness, in languages I could never hope to distinguish. But the whispers escalated into spoken words, and then they were shouting, screaming at me and all I could do was listen, unable to decipher their pleas, but understanding their anguish, and the fear that came with it was slowly descending over me with all the force of a speeding train.

"He's gone, Sirius. It's three days from the full moon; I'd have been able to hear him breathing."

"He's stopped breathing before, Remus." The voice was frantic, and desperate. There was a pressure on my chest.

"Yes, but his heart isn't beating. He's strong, just like James – deep down you know that, and that he'll pull through."

"And what if he doesn't? I promised-!"

Suddenly it was like I could open my eyes again, and the creatures in the darkness were gone, the shouting diminished and the voices in the distance of my guardians faded from existence as I was propelled to the other side of the world.

It was a completely different climate, warm, around the manor house I was in, but there was snow mounting the surrounding area, large, towering mountains leaning in from all angles. It took me a second or two to realise that the manor itself was embedded half into the side of a cliff, in the middle of nowhere at a high altitude, far away from any civilization.

The manor itself was expensively decorated with Victorian styled furniture, old in style, but new in presentation. It was an out of body experience, like in one of my dreams where I was seeing everything from _his_ eyes. I knew for a fact that I myself, as a person, was back at Grimmauld Place, in London, but my mind… well that was another matter altogether.

I felt a small tug toward the other room and was forced away from the balcony that I had arrived at into the darker depths of the house. The further I went, the fewer windows there were, until they were completely non-existent, not even an enchanted few to give the impression that you weren't underground, like at the Ministry.

I came to a stop at the very top of the building, under a large dome that surfaced at the top of the cliff, looking out and up into the night sky. Snow was falling down on it slowly, gracefully landing upon it and sliding down to the sides, stars just visible in the night sky through the falling white flakes of crystalline water and ice.

"How is the girl?"

My eyes locked onto the table sitting directly under it and the people around it. Voldemort was at the head of the table, having spoken. I was directly behind him, surveying the select few people sitting across from him as he did. Bellatrix was there, as was Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Fenrir Greyback and, of course, Saiph and Electra Capella. There were a couple more that I didn't recognise.

"In a state. Her little friend rejected her the moment he found out why the woman died." Snape. He looked quite smug for some reason. "And, from what I hear, Potter _'died'_ 15 hours ago. She's gotten herself into quite a bad state of mind."

15 hours? Already? It felt like 5 minutes…

"You say that like it's a bad thing." hissed Saiph from the other end of the table, face contorted with anger, looking ready to kill Snape.

His sister put her hand on his shoulder. "Calm, Saiph."

Snape smirked. "And yet you helped kill her best friend's aunt, with that intention, am I right? Why be angry about it now?"

"We agreed to that to get her isolated from her friends, not to upset her." he said lowly, glaring in the potions master's direction.

"And I'm assuming that it never so much as crossed your mind that not being around her friends would upset her in any shape or form?"

Saiph opened his mouth to argue, but Voldemort cut in. "Enough, _children_." He sneered at the two for a second, watching them go quiet under his gaze with unabashed satisfaction. "He's not showing any indication of waking up?"

Snape shook his head. "Not that I've heard of. Dumbledore is starting to worry."

'_Border line, dead inside. I don't mind, falling to pieces. Count me in, violent. Let's begin, feeding the sickness. How do I simplify, dislocate - the enemy's on the way.'_

My mind finally came to register some sort of music playing in the background, like from a few floors below, vibrating up through the manor, but the other occupants of the room couldn't hear it. I tried to move away from Voldemort, to look for the source of the sound but it wouldn't let me… whatever 'it' was. I was stuck.

Blocking out their conversation and concentrating on the sound, I strained my ears to hear it again. It had become so quiet I could barely hear it.

But right there, far off in the distance, I could see it, when I closed my eyes. The kitchen in Grimmauld Place, the people sitting in it barely distinguishable, but there. The music playing out of the wireless… then it was louder, drowning out all spoken word from Voldemort and his followers. It was like I was standing right beside the wireless.

'_Full of fear, ever clear. I'll be here, fighting forever. Curious, venomous, you'll find me, climbing to heaven. Never mind, turn back time. You'll be fine - I will get left behind…'_

I reopened my eyes and the manor with the snow falling down on the glass dome was gone, only to be replaced by the dark confides of the Kitchen in Grimmauld Place in the early hours of the morning. The low music was cutting through the silence in the room like the blade of a knife, the air in the room tense and dark. It was still dark outside, light from the lampposts outside shining down on the back of Ginny's head where she sat at the table. Her arms were crossed on the tabletop with her chin resting on her forearms, Ron and Hermione sitting near by with similar expressions of despair on their faces.

Sirius stood leaning against the wall behind Ron, arms crossed over his chest as he stared blankly out of the window opposite him. Mary was sat on the counter top to his right, one leg underneath her as she picked at her nails absently with worry. She looked up at Sirius briefly and sighed at the expression on his face before looking towards the kitchen door, waiting for the imminent arrival of the other Weasleys.

They all filed in, silent, one by one, taking seats at the table. Mrs Weasley went straight to her daughter's side, her fingers in her hair as she brushed it out of her face but Ginny only moved her head to bury further into her arms where her mother couldn't see her eyes glistening in the low light of the room.

Molly scowled. "Will someone turn that stupid thing _off_!"

Mary immediately jumped up, walking as slowly as physically possible to turn the wireless off.

'_Show me what it's like, to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight. Holding on too tight. Breathe the breath of life, so I can leave this world behind. It only hurts just once. They're only broken bones. Hide the hate insi-'_

Everything was suddenly completely silent as the music came to a violent end and it quickly became clear to Molly Weasley why it had been playing in the first place. It was like everything had been set to mute, awkward and stifled. Sirius managed to stand there for a few seconds longer before he gave up and walked upstairs.

She cleared her throat and ignored the thick tension in the room to rub Ginny's back. "He'll be fine." she stated, more to the room as a whole than her daughter.

"It's been 23 hours. There's…37 minutes left." whispered Hermione.

Fred winced. "Well don't count, Hermione, you'll make it worse."

Ginny sat back and knocked her mum's hand off of her shoulder, brushing her hair back out of her face and over her shoulders with both hands. "Ginny, there's still a chance that he-"

"Why are you comforting her?" demanded Ron suddenly, and Ginny looked up in surprise. She looked hurt, and I wanted to tell her that I was fine, standing right behind her but I didn't have the means to.

"She barely knows him! He's been my best friend for the past 5 years. Hermione and I, we've been there for him through everything, and she's just suddenly decided to get all pally with him because he told her what was going on while we were away. Just because you knew before us doesn't mean he cares any more about you than he did before, Ginny. You don't know the first thing about him."

Hermione kicked him under the table as his mother turned to shout at him. Ginny shook her head at him, shaking with suppressed anger, but didn't say anything, standing up to leave the room.

I found myself being dragged behind her into the drawing room, where she collapsed onto the sofa in there and burst into a fit of silent tears, her hands over her eyes as she leant forward and braced her elbows on her knees. Her hair fell down in front of her face and she let out a quiet noise of annoyance, at herself or her hair, I didn't know, but she slid her hands up her face to push her hair out of the way again and wiped her eyes furiously with the heel of her hands, sitting back slightly and scowling at the ceiling.

Just as I tried to walk over to her I found myself flying upwards, through the ceiling and on up into the floor above. But I didn't stop, speeding up and gaining momentum until I hit something solid and I was sitting up straight in bed, taking in a deep breath of air. I found myself panting for breath, though I had no need of it, it wasn't going anywhere, the coldness of it just ripping right through me, chilling my already cold form to the bone.

Looking down I could see my hands, solid and intact, so was the rest of me, it seemed. For now at the least. I almost laughed. What the hell was that all about? Where had I even gone?

"You're awake!" Sirius was standing at the end of the bed.

I couldn't even reply. Remus was already talking. "Harry how do you feel?"

I frowned. "Fine, I guess. Confused, but I'm…fine."

"Then maybe he'll stay that way, maybe he doesn't need to-"

"It still might, Sirius, we need to take him in even if he feels 'fine' now. It's just a precaution." Remus was staring Sirius down, who looked slightly lost, walking over to the other side of the room.

"But what if-"

Remus shook his head. "Harry, come on, get up, we have to go."

I looked from him to the door and saw three men dressed in khaki combat trousers and dragon-hide boots. I could tell just by the expression of complete indifference on their faces at the situation that they were Aurors, if the dog-tags weren't any indication. It wasn't until I stood and two of them grabbed me by the elbow, one on each side, that I realised that they were Vampires as well.

"Oi!" Sirius protested from behind me.

The third came to stand behind us and Remus walked ahead, toward the fireplace they'd set up for the Healers. "Sirius-" he started.

"No, that's not necessary, he can walk! He's just a kid!"

"A potentially lethal, kid." said the one on my right, looking back to Sirius, who began to walk around the one behind me, anger flaring in his eyes.

"It's okay, Sirius." I whispered, looking over at him as best I could from the way they had me pinned. "I'm alright."

Sirius went quiet, eyebrows knitting together. He didn't look at all happy with the situation. I couldn't blame him.

The Auror behind me went through the floo first, then the two either side of me walked me over to it, one of them mumbling the location and throwing the powder. Closing my eyes against the soot flying around me, I tried to ignore the flurry of colours flying around me as we went hurtling toward the Ministry of Magic.

The first Auror was standing waiting ahead of us, ready to lead on when we landed in the darkened hallway deep in the recesses of the Ministry building. It was much lower down than the Department of Mysteries, I knew that much. It was just a long rectangle of concrete and mud, no windows, no doors, no exit. Once Remus and Sirius came through the floo behind me the fireplace popped out of existence and the Auror led on.

There didn't seem to be any way in or out of this part of the building other than the fireplace and that was gone. All that was ahead of them was a bend in the concrete cave and that led to a single door. The Auror led the way through the door and into another, completely different hall. I was surrounded by metal. It was like something out of a weirdly futuristic muggle movie, flashing lights and voice controlled databases.

The door vanished after Remus came through it and we were once again blocked off from any possible exits. At least this hall had doors.

Only they weren't wooden like the last. They were large hulking titanium bolted doors with series' of bolts, locks and coding covering them. I was led right down to the very end, and around a couple of bends before we stopped and the Auror in front began the lengthy process of opening one of the doors. It was at least 10 minutes before the door was forced open with a lot of effort involved on his part, and I was finally released from their grip.

"In you go."

I did as I was told, albeit awkwardly, walking around them and into a concrete room. Without bothering to look around, I turned back to the door. Remus was arguing with the one who had spoken to Sirius.

"I will be 2 minutes! You can count if you want! Just give me this."

The man grunted in response. "Hurry up."

Remus nearly fell through the doorway in an attempt to get to me quicker. Any anger etched into his face from fighting with the Auror melted from his face when he turned to look at me. He took a deep breath and walked forward, gently placing both hands on either side of the top of my head. I almost flinched back.

He caught the slight tremor as I resisted backing away and smiled grimly. "Yeah… I thought so."

"What?"

"The wolf in me… he doesn't like me being around you. He's been making me nervous to be around you ever since I came back from the Ministry with you. Deep down I knew what was wrong with you, it's the only reason why Moony'd want to stay away from you… I just hated to admit it." He frowned. "Werewolves and Vampires are natural enemies… your instincts should be telling you to stay the hell away."

I didn't like to agree with him, but apparently the expression on my face gave me away.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to help you through this Harry, when you get out of here, and I'm promising you that you will. I know more about this than I'd like to admit." He laughed humourlessly. "I did a lot of research when I was younger about Werewolves and Vampires after I came to Hogwarts, and the moment I realised what you were I started up again. The fact that I was down in the Underground with people like us helped some as well. I can help. I can understand. I know exactly what you're going through Harry." He paused.

"Anything you need, just come to me alright? I was terrified when I first became a werewolf and I didn't have anyone to talk to about it – there are some things I didn't even tell James or Sirius, just… know that whatever it is, even if you've done something terrible and you don't want anyone to think badly of you, I won't judge you, because I know exactly how it feels. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." I mumbled. "I just wish I didn't have to do this at all."

"I know, I'm sorry." He replied. "But you'll be fine, okay? Sirius and I will be right with you all the way, just through there." He let go of me to point, with one hand, to a massive blemish in the smooth craftsmanship of the east wall. It was a large completely black glass pane embedded into the wall. "You may not be able to see us, but we'll be there the entire time, I promise."

I nodded, and he did the same, once. "I have to go, but it'll be over quicker than you think, I promise."

He walked back out into the hallway and past the Aurors, completely out of sight. The one nearest the door nodded to me calmly. "You'll be fine kid, if anyone can survive this, it's you." he said sincerely. The one who'd been arguing with Remus glared at the man heartily. Apparently they weren't supposed to talk to their charges.

"Thanks."

He made to close the door so I turned away, back toward the pane in the wall, only to be nearly knocked over as Sirius came barreling in and nearly knocked me over with the force of his bone crushing hug. "You didn't think I was going to let you go without saying goodbye, did you?" He grinned down at me and I laughed, but the words 'goodbye' rang through my head like a siren.

He kissed the top of my head. "I'll see you on the other side." Then he was gone, and the door was closed, locked and bolted.

'Goodbye' he couldn't let me go without saying goodbye. I couldn't help but think that the only reason why he'd say such a thing would be if he knew I wasn't coming out of this alive. I knew the statistics. Only 1 in 5 people actually survived this stage. Sirius had argued that most people that were unfortunate enough to have been bitten were on their own, and didn't know what was happening to them. They'd be at home or out and about and they'd suddenly drop dead for no reason whatsoever. Then they'd wake somewhere completely different, maybe in a morgue somewhere and they'd just go ballistic.

'Ballistic' that's the exact word he'd used, ballistic. They'd kill anything and everything around them, completely out of their minds and it hurt, so much. Most of them either died of their own accord, their bodies too weak to take the strain, others, the few that survived would wake up one morning a few days later and not remember a thing. Some of them were killed in the process, caught by Aurors and had to get put down, like a dog, simply because it was the only way that they could be stopped from killing anyone else.

I shook my head to clear it, squeezing my eyes shut and trying not to think about it. When I reopened them I took a chance at looking around the room. It was a dull grey, long, thin indents running the length of the room horizontally around it. There were 6, each 3 metres apart, thick titanium steel bars that ran deep into the wall itself, and no doubt Vertically through in the inside of the wall as well. The ceiling was high, 21 metres from what I could guess with the distance between the visible bars, and the extra space at the top, after the last one. Oddly though, there were beams at the top, that same metal running out from one side of the wall to the other. The room itself was big enough. I found myself walking to the west wall, then turning to face the thick pane of glass.

It was completely black, I couldn't see through it, but I knew they were there already, watching, waiting.

I slid down the wall and brought my knees up to my chest, dropping my head back onto the wall and closing my eyes against the dim lighting emanating from up above. It wasn't long before I could feel a dull ache in the very back of my head.

It only got worse, building and building until it had spread right across my skull to beat into my head, increasing in intensity. It was almost like a headache, but it generated from the base of my neck, and there was a constant drumming in my head.

It was getting louder and louder, repeating itself over and over, bouncing off of the inside of my head - forcing it out in the most painful way possible. It felt like my head was going to explode, so agonisingly painful that my eyes hurt, and stung in their sockets, my cheekbones throbbed, it hurt to so much as run my fingers through my hair. Clenching my teeth in pain as I made the mistake of doing just that I forced my eyes open and was immediately met with the sight of Sirius and Remus standing with those same three Aurors on the other side of the glass.

I could actually _see_ them!

I looked right back at them for a few minutes before my head gave a particularly painful throb and the pain travelled from the base of my neck right down my spine. I couldn't stop the groan of pain as it left my mouth and I realised, for the first time since they told me that they'd be watching, that they'd see me, like this, in this state.

Their presence suddenly felt less comforting and I wished that they weren't there at all. Forcing myself to stand I walked right into the corner of the room, on the west side where the glass was, just catching a glimpse of Sirius walking towards the glass, trying to figure out what I was doing as I got down on my hands and knees and crawled underneath where the glass was before lying out on my back where they couldn't see me and closing my eyes, pretending that I was in the flowerbed under the living room window at the Dursleys'.

The pain slid around my chest, gripping it with a vice-like force. But they couldn't see me, and I was back at 4 Privet Drive. The News was playing inside and there was a soft breeze flowing over me with the heat of the sun above me and the soil underneath me. I concentrated on that one piece of sanity I had as I let my mind descend into chaos.

_

* * *

_

A/N: I JUST WROTE THE FINAL DRAFT FOR THE EPILOGUE FOR THIS STORY! =D It's called Sweet Dreams, and it's set with Voldemort in the Alps, which is where Harry was when he was dead. I should point out that he wasn't a ghost, he could hear Sirius and Remus talking while he was lying there in that room, and Sirius put his head on Harrys chest to hear his heart beating, which is why he felt a pressure on his chest. The Horcrux in him took him straight back to its owner once he died aaannndd the reason why he went to Ginny before he came back again will be explained later =]

_And to all of those people who were expecting him to go to Heaven and see a lode of dead people telling him to wake up I'm sorry, but in this there is no Kingscross waiting to take him to his parents when he 'dies'. That darkness is all that's waiting for him and everyone else in this story and there's something in that darkness that wants him, the whispering, and the feeling of impending doom? Yeah, that's something that's going to crop up in a sequel that I AM in fact working on =]_

_Next Chapter's Harry's again. It's more on his transformation and dealing with it… I already have most of it done, and I will most definitely post it on Monday of this week… It'll be unbeta'd though until Miss Birdie gets back =]_

_Jessica_

_Hah, no, wait – the song was **Unknown Soldier** by **Breaking Benjamin**. I've loved that song for years! I was singing along to it while writing this chapter. I almost used _**Blow Me Away**_ (Halo Soundtrack), _'Fire your guns, it's time to run, blow me away (I will stay, in the mess I made) after the fall - We'll shake it off, show me the way…' _but it fit better in a much later chapter, kinda toward the end of the story. _


	11. Out

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_Quote: '_But… not here. Do you really want to make love for the first time in Ollie's shed?'_ –Chloe_

'…I'm 17 years old and I'm male. I'd happily shag you in Osama Bin Laden's cave.'_ – Matt_

Coming of Age_… I love that show, as wonderfully vile as it is =] _

_A/N: As promised… but unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine, all of them will be corrected when my beta gets back =]_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_Part Two: UnReaL_

Chapter Eleven: Out_

* * *

_

Previously: Their presence suddenly felt less comforting and I wished that they weren't there at all. Forcing myself to stand I walked right into the corner of the room, on the west side where the glass was, just catching a glimpse of Sirius walking towards the glass, trying to figure out what I was doing as I got down on my hands and knees and crawled underneath where the glass was before lying out on my back where they couldn't see me and closing my eyes, pretending that I was in the flowerbed under the living room window at the Dursleys'.

_The pain slid around my chest, gripping it with a vice-like force. But they couldn't see me, and I was back at 4 Privet Drive. The News was playing inside and there was a soft breeze flowing over me with the heat of the sun above me and the soil underneath me. I concentrated on that one piece of sanity I had as I let my mind descend into chaos._

* * *

Turns out Remus was right, it really didn't last very long. Not to me anyway, I couldn't even remember when it started, only that it ended not so long ago and I felt lighter than air.

Not that that had anything to do with the fact that I was at least 60 feet off the ground. I'd figured out what those beams were for. Well… they probably weren't for what I was using them for but all the same.

It kept me out of sight from the people watching be down below and I was nowhere near that bloody door. Lying on my back across a beam 60 feet up from the ground wouldn't have exactly been my idea of a calming place to be back when, but now, I felt a helluva lot safer up here than I did on the ground below.

Why were these rooms so high anyway?

There was a loud bang below, and then a series of clicks as the door slid open with apparent difficulty. The sound of someone's footsteps into the room echoed off the walls hollowly as I rolled onto my front on the narrow bar and braced my hands on either side of it, pushing myself up to stand.

"Harry?"

Remus was standing in the middle of the concrete cage with his hands shielding his eyes, looking up into the light at me. Those Aurors were following in behind him. Turning swiftly to look at the wall behind me, I jumped across onto the West wall, finding a gripping point with the slight indents every 3 metres then met myself slide down a quarter of the way before pushing off and down onto the North wall and bouncing back into the middle.

I heard him inhale sharply behind me as he watched my hit the ground from 7 metres up. He didn't say anything as I turned to look at him, looking almost afraid that I was going to suddenly go completely mental on him. I smiled. "Alright, Remus. What's occurring?"

He let out a slightly stifled sigh of relief. "How're you feeling?" he asked cautiously.

The smile on my face migrated into a slight smirk. "Don't worry; I'm not going to eat you."

He laughed. "I think, given the situations, I'm more likely to eat you."

"Same difference. Am I allowed to leave now? This place is downright creepy."

He nodded once in response, looking to the Aurors behind him for confirmation. They did the same, and walked out, me following on behind them. It took us to get up to the main Ministry building (some sort of shoot that sent us flying up into a random hallway that I'd never been in before) for Remus to start talking again, cutting through a rather awkward silence where neither of us knew what to say and there was three hulking Aurors breathing down our necks.

"You had us worried for a moment there." He laughed awkwardly. "You went a bit… funny."

I snorted. "That's one way of putting it, yes." I was rather embarrassed to be honest, that they'd seen me lose control like that. Not that I'd ever admit it. "Where are we going now?" I asked, trying to get off the subject.

"You have to sign some papers up in the DMLE… It has to be on record… what you are. I mean, it already was, but you were classed as 'un-transformed' and 'not complete', it's been a closely guarded secret by those in the office who knew, you're files have always been locked away in case anyone decided they wanted the information to use it against you. But people are going to notice… once you get back into the real world. All it takes is one person to notice that you've changed, that something's obviously happened to you, then there'll be speculation and rumors… eventually someone will get it right or let it slip. You're just lucky that the smartest person in your school is your best friend… and not a gossip."

Hermione. No doubt she'd have something to say when she figured it out. "Won't take her long, I guess. She figured out what you are without spending much time with you, she knows me too well, and sees me daily."

"Actually…"

I frowned over at him as he pushed open a door to someone's office. "What?"

"She already knows, figured it out a while ago, Ginny confirmed it. She's been doing research ever since – brace yourself." He said rapidly, before smiling brightly at the woman behind the desk. "Amelia!"

Surprisingly enough, she greeted him just as warmly. "Hello, Remus! It's so nice to see you." She stood up to shake his hand.

He caught the look I was giving him and said "We were in the same year at Hogwarts together." To me in a low voice.

I raised my eyebrows at him suggestively but he ignored me. "And Mr Potter, I hope you're feeling… well." She gave me a sympathetic look and I held back a grimace.

This was what it was going to be like back at Grimmauld place, wasn't it? Questions and people asking me if I was okay, frequently. I nodded in response, but she walked around me in a full circle. "You do seem fine." She stated, stopping. "No discomfort at being around Remus and me?"

"Not entirely, no." As long as I didn't breathe, as in talk, or stand too close to them I was fine. It was when I could hear the blood pumping through their veins that I was thrown off. I'd learnt that much just walking down a corridor beside Remus.

She stood back, grabbing a stack of papers on the desk. "Well. As long as you can learn to control yourself around a large number of people you should have no problem being around the other students at school. Precautions will be set by the board, of course, but other than that… I can't think of anything to tell you." She smiled. "We'll just have to trust that you can do this. I mean, the school has had people like you attending long before now, but they'd usually had to live with it from a young age… you haven't had the time to adjust yet."

"He was with us all summer before now, when he was changing." Countered Remus.

"Yes." She said, flicking through the pages until she found the right one and tugged it out. "But that was just the beginning." There was an odd glint in her eye as she placed the paper down on the desk, placing down a quill and some ink beside it. "I'll be much worse now that you can't rely on food to keep your energy up. Magic usage will undoubtedly weaken you for a while until your body gets used to it. That is unless… well I'm assuming that you wouldn't…"

My eyes widened involuntarily as I caught what she was hinting at. "No!"

She smiled. "Well, depends on circumstance, doesn't it. Sometimes we have to do things we don't necessarily want to do to survive." She pointed at the parchment on the desk. "Sign at the bottom, take your time."

Walking over to the parchment, I tried desperately not to think of what she was suggesting, failing slightly and hoping that it wouldn't show on my face. What the hell was I even supposed to be signing?

Scanning it, all I gathered was that it was some sort of release form. My parents names were mentioned a lot, something about their wills… James Sr. and Pandora Potter. That must be my grandparents… my heart sank slightly when I realized that I hadn't even thought to ask their names. Something about Gringotts… I paused over that bit and had to read it at least three times before my brain would fully process what it said… _'At the time of completion all founding's of the Potter Estate will be passed down to the only predecessor…'_

"The 'Potter Estate'?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Remus, who was talking quietly with Amelia, who, herself, looked slight flushed, giggling to herself. I honestly didn't want to know what I'd missed while I was immersed in reading the statement.

His head snapped around to face me, and he cleared his throat. "That's… everything, basically. Everything that was your parents is now yours. That includes the family home and vault."

I frowned. "I thought that you had to be of age before any of that could go through…" I vaguely recalled something I'd either heard from Hermione or a professor at some point. You definitely had to be of age, anyway.

Amelia shook her head, having recovered. "No. Well, ordinarily, yes, but your father wrote in his will that everything was to go to you when you came into your full heritage, which, for most witches and wizards is on their 17th birthday, but you received all that early, while your magic was maturing, no doubt. Basically you're not officially an adult in the Wizarding world just yet, but you get all the perks of being one. You're magical trace is gone, for one. The lock automatically placed on all magical children is lifted, which is why your magic will have gone a bit funny, you were coming to full power, and what with your parents, sadly, being dead, you inherit all their worth."

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to take it in. "Right." I said, reopening them. "So all this is saying, is that I've fully turned into the Vampire I was supposed to be, and by signing it I'm confirming that fact, and releasing everything that was my parents to my name."

"In a nutshell." She smiled. "But you'll also have to sign the register. Remus here had to sign it himself at one point, didn't you?"

"Yeah… I was five. My handwritings improved since then." She giggled again in an entirely unnatural way for a woman I'd only ever seen acting in a purely professional manor before.

I read through the rest of the form slowly, trying to decipher the rudimentary statements as quickly as possible before signing my name at the bottom. I was half way through doing so when I noticed my parents' signatures side by side just above, the ink so old it had discolored slightly. I tried to stop a minute to take in their handwriting for a second after but the moment the quill left the page it was gone in a poof of smoke.

"Down to the sorting office." She said, bringing a large book up off of her chair. "You should receive a letter from Gringotts in a few days asking you to come and collect your keys, and contracts." The book landed with a loud thud on the table. "Now this… I sort of stole it from the Department of Mysteries." She whispered to me quietly. "No one's supposed to see it but I figured you might like to." I raised my eyebrows at her and she grinned like a school girl. "I did ask, anything for the Harry Potter, you know what they're like. They weren't happy about the mess you and your friends made down their early on this year, mind."

She flipped through the pages until she came to a certain year and traced her finger down. "You should be in here twice. You're the first of your kind, that spell your mother created was only ever used for this purpose on you. It should appear once, the day you were born, and again, on this date. Magically updates itself you see."

"So it's basically a flipbook of every Vampire that was ever created."

She nodded conspiratorially. "And you can't tell anyone you saw this." She ran her finger down one particular page and then tapped one spot. My name standing there in bold print. It was red, unlike the other black ones. "It means that you were 'terminated'." She said before I could ask. "Their names go red when they die. I have to admit, I wondered if your name would go that, since, technically you weren't one anymore. She flicked right to the back and pointed at the most recent name in the book, I was in there twice.

She placed both her hands palm down on either page. "You stay here with that, I'm just going to go and get the other form."

She walked out of the room, past the Aurors that were stationed outside and down the hall. I turned to give Remus an incredulous look. "Are you sure that's Amelia Bones?"

He grinned. "Just because she's formal while doing her job doesn't mean she can't be a normal person when she's about her business. She's doing this as a favor to me. You would have had to have a group of ministry officials otherwise. I told you, me and her used to go to school together."

I rolled my eyes. "So you say."

He looked down to the book. "Hey, you recon Saiph Cappella's in there?"

"Is that not against the rules?" I asked mockingly.

"Are you, or are you not, the son of a marauder, Harry? Surely you want a little peak."

More than a little one, really. I flicked back to where my name first appeared and scanned the pages quickly, so fast Remus didn't have chance to catch anything written on the page, in fact. 1978. But that's… "He's 19?"

Remus frowned as well, looking down at the date and the name to make sure.

"I'd have thought he was older than that." I couldn't even explain why, he looked it, but I would have thought that Voldemort would allow Vampires into his ranks that had been that way for centuries before hand. Obviously not.

"What do you think Voldemort's doing with him and his sister anyway?"

Remus shook his head. "I've no idea. Snape says that their after Ginny and that's all he knows."

The image of that snow falling down on the glass dome flashed in front of my eyes. "Yes! I saw that! They want her isolated from her friends."

"Why – how did you know that?"

"When I died, I-"

Amelia appeared in the hallway outside the open door and I quickly turned the large tome back to the last page. "Here we are!" she waved the parchment at me. "This one's just to say that you understand and are subject to abide by the ministry's laws for and against Vampires, alright?"

* * *

It was an intense feeling. Being there, living, walking and talking… existing without the pretence to actually _be_. Just passing by without impacting anything. I was as real as the next person, but it was like floating on air. Light headed and delirious, everything brighter and more vibrant than it had ever been. Unreal.

Things were so much more distinct and clear, and yet so distant. It was like, with the clarity, I was unable to connect with anything properly. It was like being on a constant high, everything slightly out of sync to me as compared to the rest of the world. I could hear everything; see everything in such greater detail than I ever had done before. Nothing looked right anymore.

I'd been what the Healers classed as 'fine' (though I'd assume that that was code for 'safe', whilst they were within earshot of me), for nearly 48 hours now. Even though they'd deemed me safe enough to be allowed out of that room, they wanted me to be kept away from everyone else for a further 2 days, sort of a catchment thing. In case anything went wrong or I was unstable for whatever reason.

Getting back had been hell. First I'd been bombarded by Sirius and Mary, who wouldn't let me go, which made things rather difficult and I had to make them let go and stand at a distance, by a window for the next 5 minutes while Remus explained everything with the papers and what I'd told him where I'd gone while I was dead. Then I'd had to explain to them that it really would be best if they didn't come near me anytime soon, until I got my bearings.

They seemed to understand for the most part. Then of course Mrs Weasley had taken her turn, asking me if I was alright, commenting on how different I looked since the last time she saw me, complaining about the state I'd put her in. I know she meant well but god could she be overbearing. Ron and Hermione had came in asking questions about why I hadn't told them anything so I'd been stuck for a few hours talking to them about everything they'd missed, explaining everything, and of course Hermione had a lot to say on the subject, where as Ron was more excited about exactly what I could do, and the fortune I'd apparently inherited.

It turns out Ginny was at Scarlet's though, for a funeral. Of course when Ron had elaborated I wished I hadn't asked. That's why she'd came to see me the day I died, because Adam had put her in a state about losing his Aunt and I'd only made it worse.

Hermione had hit me and told me to stop being so stupid when I'd said that out loud though so I guess she's alright, for now, at least.

I kept finding myself staring at a fixed point for what would, to me, seem like hours, but then I'd look around me and everything would still be moving at that same, unnervingly slow pace. It was as if I was miles ahead of everyone else, stuck in some sort of limbo where time passed much slower than everywhere else in the world. I'd sped up and everything else just… stopped completely.

And then I'd look around and find Sirius staring at me. Again. That worried expression still glued to his face. He wasn't afraid of me, that much I was glad for. But he was scared for me, for how terrified I was that I'd slip up – that that need for blood would become so strong I just had to give in. So far it hadn't bothered me too much, but I was assured by Hermione and her newly found infinite knowledge of Vampires that it would worsen the longer I left it.

But surely I had to 'leave it', right? I couldn't willingly hurt someone; kill them, even just to save myself. I'd have to find a new way of replenishing energy because I was never going to let myself do that. Even if Sirius and Remus had decided that they'd understand.

'Understand'. But would they really? Apparently they would 'understand' if he took the path of a true vampire, killing or turning people in my wake. I couldn't help but doubt that fact. They certainly wouldn't like it, never mind supporting the decision and letting me do that to innocent people. But then again – would they really have a choice?

I was stronger than both of them, and certainly more powerful. I didn't have to answer to them if I didn't want to. If I wanted to choose that path of life, or non-life, they couldn't stop me, even if they tried.

To be honest, I didn't like that thought, not one bit. I'd have liked to hope that someone would be able to talk me out of it, maybe be able to physically stop me, should that need arise. The fact that I was pretty much on my own with that aspect of this didn't bode well with me.

Hermione had been great – slightly freaking me out with all the random facts that I didn't know about vampirism, but great all the same. I mean, I loved her and everything; she'd been there for me through everything and had yet to run and leave me to my own problems but god could she talk for England when she got started on something that interested her.

"…But I ignored Layterns theory of the way it works because, to be honest with you, it was completely unfeasible, and looked into your ancestors – did you know that you have a many-greats grandmother who was the illegitimate daughter of Coralline Swift?"

I sighed, turning to look down at Hermione where she was sat in front of the coffee table between the two of us, the fire roaring on happily in front of her at the early hour of day. There were stacks upon stacks of books that she's pulled down from the various bookcases and shelves adorning the library that they were in. It was 6am, I still hadn't been able to sleep and Hermione, being Hermione, decided to keep me company. Which was lovely, really, but there was only so much information a bloke could take in at once.

"I don't even know who that is."

Right now Hermione was on a combination sugar and caffeine high and was stuck in hyper drive, permanently, it seemed. She'd gone to bed early, woken up at around 1am and came to see if I was still awake. Obviously I was and she'd made herself a coffee… or two, grabbed a double chocolate chip muffin from the pantry and dragged me down to the library because it was more productive that numbing my mind with TV.

After 3 hours or so of just listening I had to disagree.

She looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. "Coralline Swift. Famously known for creating the expelliarmus charm and the potion of living death… you're from a pure-blooded extremely well known line of wizards, Harry, it might be interesting to look into it! You never know what you mind find. I mean, you have vampires in the blood-line, right? You didn't know that, and look at you know!"

I just stared at her for a moment or two before shaking my head. "Illegitimate child?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, yes. There was a scandal. She fell pregnant, unmarried, at 18. She gave the child away, but 20 years later, when she'd perfected the expelliarmus spell one of her rivals dug up some dirt on her past to try and knock her off her pedestal. But of course by this point her daughter was married, with a family of her own. She married into the Potter clan, actually, this was well before that thing about marrying only pure-bloods… either way, her daughter denied all claims to her biological mother though it was later found that they were actually related."

"Why did you bother to even look that up?"

"I think it's interesting! I come from a line of non-magical dentists; you come from a line of powerful witches and wizards. Aren't you curious about where you came from?"

"Not anymore I'm not." I mumbled darkly as she started to go on about something else entirely. It was vaguely endearing that she was so interested in everything, I'd admit, but spending all this time watching her research my past, present, and future was giving me a headache.

"Hey! This is interesting…"

"You're kind of interesting, or mine?"

"What? Oh, leave it out will you, just read this."

I yawned and stretched out across the sofa. "Do I have to?"

"Yes!" she insisted, dropping the book onto my stomach.

"Of course…" I grabbed the book and sat up slightly to read it.

'_Over the years many studies have concluded that vampires kill for many reasons, sport, and the thrill of the hunt being the most commonly seen out there. Of course one would assume that, what with all the major systems in their body shut down that, physically speaking, the blood and accumulative sleep that went with it after –'_

"So clinically speaking I should actually be asleep by now?" I asked her tiredly.

She nodded and pointed back at the page. "Read on."

'_-releasing particularly large amounts of magic at one time would be used as a general energy source to maintain generated magical levels and moveablilty for the Vampire in question. My research has caused me to come to another conclusion entirely. Yes, while most believe that they need it, and the desire for it outweighs most other ethical concerns, I've found another source of energy all together. Theoretically speaking, a vampire wouldn't physically need mortal blood, should they mark another as their own. Previous studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between magical vampires with enough restraint and their partners in question, who-'_

My brain was already turning to mush. "Hermione… English, please. They guy's talking gibberish."

She rolled her eyes and took the book from me, bookmarking the page with a piece of parchment. "this 'guy', Lucas Paverelli, is saying, in the simplest of terms, that vampires, such as yourself, with magical powers and enough patience can conquer their mental 'want for blood and survive as they are with the same magical values as before they were turned if they can learn to take energy from their magical core and keep a cycle of energy running through you. You might sleep slightly more than any normal vampire would after using a particularly large amount of magical energy but… you would be fine. The temptations still there, it's just all about controlling it."

"Then what was all that about a 'partner'?" I asked.

She dropped the book onto the table with a loud thud. "There was another way, for the less tolerant and very lucky few, that could only work if they were to mark a mate."

"…Mark?" I already had an idea of what she meant and I honestly didn't want to think on it, not now.

"As in bite." She said shamelessly. "It's a very selective process, it only works for a special, scarce few… basically, if you found a girl that you truly loved, entirely and had her feel the same, perpetually speaking, this girl would be your 'soul-mate'.'' I smiled at her reluctance to use such a flimsy word as 'soul-mate'. Her hate for divination really shone through sometimes. "If you were to find this girl and mark her consentingly then, theoretically, she wouldn't turn into a vampire, and if you had the restraint to – to, well… not drink her dry. She'd live beside you, frozen, but still human and functioning as one, for all eternity. Or until you die. It's a conditional clause. You're keeping her alive, but if you die, she dies. You bite her without her full consent; she'll either turn or die. Same goes for if you don't care for each other enough. Basically you have to give your minds, bodies and should to one another, forever."

"Aaannd?"

"And what, Harry?" she asked incredulously. "Under those circumstances you would live for the rest of your life with the woman you love without having to kill her to do it!"

I rolled my eyes. "Well I got that. I mean what about that blood lust thing; you said something about it being related to that."

Her face flushed with colour. "Well… you wouldn't need to feed off of others, or not at all, because she wouldn't die, you can… still bite her, she's human… and is suspended in time. With the right blood replenishing potions…"

I pulled a face, scrunching up my nose. "So it's basically a defense mechanism that means that I'd be using said person for their blood?"

She mirrored my expression. "Well don't put it like that! Think about it, you get to live forever with the one person you'll never want to leave."

I went quiet for a moment. "But what about you and Ron? Sirius, Remus, Mary, Tonks, Luna, Neville, the rest of the Weasleys… Ginny! I don't think I could stand to watch you all grow old around me while I stay the same." That thought had been haunting me long before I actually changed. It wasn't the thought of being alone, more the thought of loosing everyone I care about.

She saw the distressed look on my face and her exuberant expression she usually got from finding out something new dropped from her face like a stone in water. "You'll be fine." She whispered, getting up off the floor with slight difficulty with having sat on her knees for so long, and sat down beside me as I moved to reconnect my feet with the ground. She draped one arm around my shoulders as I leant her forehead against my upper arm. "Even if you have to leave us all behind."

My head snapped around to look at her. "Leave?!"

Her eyes were on the ground while she spoke slowly and softly. "I know I would, I mean there'd come a point where I was 17 and all my friends around me were in their late 30's and I'd feel like a child, and yet so old at the same time… I'd feel so out of place, that looming feeling of them all walking to their death however many years in the future whole I say as I am, living forever. I wouldn't be able to stand it."

"Like you're moving at a million miles an hour but everyone else has slown right down and yet… you're so far away from them, and they're speeding towards something you can't even imagine thinking of." I whispered, looking away.

Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears when she looked back at me. "Is that what it feels like? Now, I mean." She said thickly.

I nodded and I heard her take in a deep, shaking breath. "What was it like, when you died?"

She looked both saddened and curious at the same time. I shook my head, fixing my eyes on the dancing menagerie of flames in the fireplace as I spoke, what I knew must have been an undoubtedly dark expression befalling my face.

"It's just… dark. Black. Not the kind of darkness you've ever experienced either. Its thick, and impenetrable… full of... horrible things. I could hear... things calling to me in the dark. And something was approaching from off in the distance… I couldn't…" I shook my head. "I can't even say that there's nothing there, because there is, and it's waiting for me."

Everything was completely silent for a very long time, Hermione s other arm hugging mind fiercely. I could feel her heart thudding in her chest against my arm, hear it powering through my ear drums. She was terrified.

After a long while she finally spoke, quietly, so much so that I wouldn't have heard if I hadn't got such sensitive hearing. "Please." She was on the very verge of tears, sounding almost ashamed that she was even asking. "Please. If I get hurt, and I'm going to die, will you promise me, that you'll take my life, change me."

I looked over at her in surprise. "Hermione-"

"No, Harry. Listen to me. Fair enough if I'm old and decrepit, reaching the end of my time. I'll have lived my life and be as happy as you ever could be too good. But if I'm still young, with my life ahead of me… I just… need you to promise me, as my friends that you'll do this for me. Please." She repeated.

The look on her face. It was as if she knew she was destined to die young. I knew that wasn't true, she was just sacred, with Voldemort and what I'd just said was waiting on the other side… she'd live to be an old woman, I knew it. She was too smart not to. But I made the promise all the same. To but her mind at rest if anything else.

"I promise."

She let out a breath of relief and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you." She said it with such sincerity that I knew she had most definitely needed it. "I just… there's so much I want to see, and learn, you know? So many things I want to do with the knowledge that I have and I want to have the time to do it in, especially if that times going to be cut short."

She went quiet, still leaning heavily against me as she yawned widely, looking down at her watch. "Oh, god, I can't believe that its half past 7! Are you not tired?"

I shook my head, no. it was only a slight lie. I wasn't tired enough to sleep. I looked over at her absently as she yawned once again.

"You should go and get a couple of hours sleep before everyone starts to get up."

She shook her head. "No… I'm going to go back to this I think… if I went to sleep I wouldn't get back up again."

She let go of me and sat back down on the floor where she went back to doing some reading.

_

* * *

_

A/N: Blergh, I don't like this chapter at all and it was supposed to be twice as long! Feel free to yell at me for any or all of it, I know it's rubbish, and I'm likely to agree with chapter WAS initially going to be sooo much longer. I actually had him talking to Ginny, going to Gringotts, and sorting out all the stuff of his parents… just to say that there is a significance in him getting all his parents stuff, it'll come in handy later =] But uhm, yeah, there's already 6,000 words to this and I want to update today, as promised, so the bits that would be in his POV'll have to be from Ginnys in the next chapter, or it'll wait until chapter 13. I couldn't help myself - Gavin and Stacy was on in the background while I was writing this! 'Orite Gav, what's occourin'?' Gava-lar and Pama-lar cause everything's so bloomin' lush! Yeah, I love that show =]

_I really like next chapter =] It's all Ginny; there's the funeral that they talked about in this, the swimming/hoody… thing, uhm… oh! A wedding! Yeah, I uh… the random comments about all that was there for a reason, something important happens at the wedding. Not Voldemort, death eater related, just… bad and important =P I'm actually having a hell of a time writing it because honest to god, I've only ever been to 2 weddings before and I was too young to remember one of them (I was three, my mum and dad's) and I'm not the kinda girl who'll plan every element of their perfect fairytale wedding so… bad times =/ I can't write it. Haha. Their first dance is in there though… I have 4 songs in my head and I have to choose which one sounds best. _

_Next chapters posted ooonnnn theeee uhmmm… God, I'm gonna say Saturday? It'd be earlier but it's half-term, innit, I've got things to do, people to see! _

_Jessica_


	12. INTERLUDE: Mine

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_Quote: __**Naomi:**__ [after Katie told her that Emily slept with JJ] Why are you so horrible? _

_**Katie:**__ Because I love her more than you ever can._

_**Skins…**__ god I hated Katie then! Why the hell couldn't she just let her sister be gay with Naomi? Such a controlling cow… But the quote '__**Because I love her more than you ever can.'**__ Is important._

_**

* * *

**_

Blood and Chocolate

Chapter Twelve: Mine.

* * *

His eyes followed the young woman across the dance floor under the stars. The cold night air not bothering her bared skin from the low backless dress as she twirled and skipped across the wooden panelling in those stilettos she loved. Her long red hair fell down to her waist, a stark contrast to the black of the dress and the glistening night sky.

The full moon shone down as a beacon in the darkness onto the centre of the floor through the ivy canvas up above, the only source of light to her bar the fairy lights meticulously placed, adorning the makeshift floor. They curled around the stone pillars and up to the ivy and roses twisting around a wooden grid over the floor, the light of the moon casting odd shapes upon the ground through them.

There was a single table at the far right, where he sat and watched, the remains of dinner to be cleared away at a later time, the red candles dwindling in the late hour.

A low bass drummed through the floor, and the grass around it, the relatively loud rock music breaking through the silence of the air around her as she danced with all the grace of a lioness, her cheeks flushed with the heat she was radiating.

His eyes followed her every move, every twist, turn, dip and jump in her dance across the floor watching her eyes light up with the simplistic joy of what she was doing, where she was… who she was with.

She stopped and turned to face him, rotating on her heel; she bent forward, hands on knees and giggled quietly, giddily, though he heard her perfectly over the music. She beckoned him forward and finally, he stood, following her to the centre of the floor where he took her hands and spun her on the spot, watching her curly hair spin around her in a curtain of fire.

She grinned up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close as they swayed. She didn't speak, running her arms up his chest and over his shoulders, around his neck. Her brown eyes eluded him as her eyelids slid closed and she leaned against his chest. A small sigh escaped her lips and she opened her mouth to speak.

Then he remembered that he had never once heard her say a word. Disappointment washed over him, and with no voice to put to her beautiful face he opened his eyes once more and stared at the vast mountains ahead of him instead, her brown eyes a printed image on his eyelids.

It was still snowing, like always, _cold,_ like always… and they were no closer to their goal... _like always_. He let his eyes slide closed once again and tried to picture her face once more, but it didn't work.

It was gone, in the wind, like everything else on this godforsaken land.

"Stop moping, Saiph, we have work to do."

Electra's light, but firm voice cut through his thoughts.

"Yes, Ellie." Just to show he was listening, and she continued on her journey past the balcony on which he sat.

Eventually he stood, and made his way to the conference room on the top floor, thoughts of Ginny Weasley swirling around in his head. She would be his eventually. _His,_ no one else's, not Potters, not _anybody's_ but his.

_Mine, mine, mine…_

_

* * *

_

A/N: 'Daaavee, you're

_**my**__ wife naooww!' Just imagining him as Papa Lazarou. Yeah, I know you were expecting a Ginny chapter on like… Saturday, but I was busy and not at home so… yeah. It's longer than expected anyway and I had to leave it for a bit to get some Art work done. Though on this chapter, or 'interlude', Saiph has a really… disfigured idea of what Ginny is like. I figured it'd be nice to get into the mind of the killer xD_

_But yeah, the beginning, when he was thinking of her dancing, it's supposed to be a memory that was never his. He saw it, of her, and twisted it up in his head and that's what he created. He's never heard her speak, the first time he actually saw her was that day in Diagon Alley. _

_It'll all make sense eventually!_

_Ginny's chapter will be posted by the end of the week._

_Jessica_


	13. Scarlet

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

_Quote: _'Why can't you give me any proper food? You're Scottish, fry something!' – Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor =D He wasn't half bad actually, if you haven't seen it yet then don't write him off just yet. Opening titles are shit though. Just saying.

**Blood and Chocolate**

Chapter Thirteen: Scarlet

I smoothed down the front of my dress with a slightly rougher hand than I intended, examining my reflection in the full sized mirror in front of me critically. The black dress I was wearing looked so out of place in Scarlet's bright pink bedroom. I'd never understood the colour choice, but I guess she likes it. I pulled my hair down from the pony tail it was in and shook it out around my shoulders, pulling on a long black coat I'd borrowed from Scarlet, all I had was my cloak and she insisted I wore that rather than get cold.

Looking behind my own reflection in the mirror I could see Scarlet herself attempting to put on what she classed as sensible shoes, she had on this hat that sat at the side of her head, just in front of the bun that kept her hair up. I turned around to look at her and she caught my eye for a second before standing up and hooking her arm with mine. "Come on, you look fine. And stop worrying! Adam wanted you there, if he really hated you that much he wouldn't have said anything about it, now would he?"

Everything about her, from her tone of voice to the way she was dressed made her seem so much calmer and more collected than usual, it was an odd sight. I'd already decided I liked the all singing, all dancing side to her. It was annoying, but it was her, and it was weird seeing her so subdued. When we got down stairs to the kitchen her brother was standing leaning against the dining table, looking severely pissed off. I didn't like to ask, he had a bit of a temper and today of all days was definitely not one to start him off.

Scarlet didn't think that far ahead. "What's with that face?"

He looked over at us like he'd just remembered that we were in the house. "Nothin', it's none of your business."

She snorted. "Oh yeah, because me, your loving sister, of all people shouldn't be allowed to know what's got her brothers knickers in a twist. You've got your Manc accent back, I see?"

He almost cracked a smile at the word 'loving'. "Yeah, I've not been up at Juliette's for a couple of weeks, I have no idea why I pick up accents so easily. I went down to London for a week and I came back sounding like a right posh twat."

She laughed. "Yeah I remember that! Your mates didn't half give you hell for that."

He grunted in response. "Didn't last long though after they got involved, 'ey?"

He grabbed a mug off the counter. "Dad set up a portkey for us to take, he 'n' mam left 20 minutes ago."

He held it out, motioning for me or Scarlett to take it. There was a ten second gap between grabbing it and actually being sent off further up the North of England. Stumbling and nearly falling in the heeled shoes I was wearing, Damien grabbed me around the shoulders before I could fall. Scarlet was used to traveling in heels, obviously not bothered, already walking up the path to the church doors.

I took a deep breath to steady myself, trying to decide if I could even do this. What would her family think? As far as those in the Order knew, it was my fault, and Adam had certainly given up on me. What if her boyfriend was there? Surely he wouldn't be too happy about me being there, having the front to show up to a funeral that wouldn't even be happening if it wasn't for me.

Damien squeezed my shoulder. "It'll be fine, no one with look at you twice, they're too consumed in their own grief for her. I swear, you have nothing to worry about."

I gave him a dubious look and he smiled fractionally. "If you're really that worried, you can hide behind me." He held out his hand to me and I smiled back at him briefly.

He really was a great brother for Scarlet to have, even if she didn't see it. Then again, most siblings didn't. He was a nice bloke though. He led me right up to the third row from the front, and sat me down between him and my brother Bill, both of whom greeted each other warmly. They'd gone to school together, though Damien was a couple of years younger than him, so it was Charlie of all my brothers who'd been in the same year as him.

It wasn't the service that bothered me really, crying relatives and all the rest. It was when I got outside and saw the expression on Adams face that I really regretted having come in the first place. I didn't want to see him like that, but I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away either, which was a problem. His dad, Juliette's brother, was stood, blank faced and righteous. I genuinely wanted to slap him. His sister had died. Surely that elected some sort of emotion from him?

We'd joked about it in the past, Adam and I, the fact that he was such an emotionally deprived ape that he wouldn't even show his pride at something that Adam had done. He was the kind of bloke that lived in the past, stuck to the ways of a long gone time and refused to show the slightest bit of emotion, despite the fact that he obviously cared. Adam was the opposite, annoyingly touchy-feely. I generally lost count of the amount of times he'd hug me in the first hour of being around each other at any given time.

I found him after everyone had dispersed, facing her gravestone with his back to me. I took a deep breath, and damning the consequences, I wrapped my arms around him from behind in the way he always did to me to comfort me. Obviously I was a lot shorter than him, so the top of my head was just under his shoulders, whereas he'd have rested his chin on the top of my head at this point.

He didn't move. "Adam…" I whispered. "You have every right to hate me right now. And I understand that, I really do. But you're my best friend, and I love you. I can't stand to see you like this." My breath hitched, but I plowed on. "I'm so sorry, about what happened to your Auntie Julie. I know how much she meant to you, and she can't be replaced, not by anyone… I just have to hope that you can forgive me…"

I squeezed him lightly then let go. I backed up a bit and was about to turn to leave when he turned, taking me by surprise and looked at me with a broken expression covering his face. "I don't hate you." He whispered, a short humourless laugh escaping his lips. "I don't think I could even if I tried… And I did, believe me. I wanted to blame you, for everything… but I couldn't bring myself to. And… you mean too much to me for me to let you go over this. Sh-she wouldn't want me to." His voice shook and he had to stop, face crumbling in front of my eyes.

His dad was standing over by the church behind us, still stoic. He caught me looking and nodded his head slightly in his son's direction. At least he acknowledged the fact that his son needed comforting. I opened my arms to Adam and he held me tightly, the first signs of tears appearing in his eyes before he buried his face into my neck.

--

Ron greeted me with a one-armed hug when I got back from Scarletts. "See, wasn't so hard, was it? They didn't kill you. You're still here." He ruffled my hair.

I shoved him away, rolling my eyes. "Bugger off, Ron."

He snorted. "Well excuse me for being supportive of my little sister." He said jokingly with a smile, wandering back into the kitchen.

I followed him, cautiously, only to gain the same treatment from mum, and then Sirius. Though not both at once, thank god. Looking around the room after the fuss had died down I noted that while Sirius, mum and Remus were collectively trying to organize dinner (Sirius generally massacring food, with Remus correcting his mistakes before mum noticed) and Mary and Ron where amiably chatting about the state of the Quidditch League tables, but Harry and Hermione were missing.

"Where's Ha-Hermione?" I asked. If I found Hermione, I was likely to find Harry, but if I asked for Harry directly, Ron would throw a hissy fit – like the child he evidently is.

Remus sniggered behind me, and I dreaded the thought that he may have caught what I almost said.

"In the Library, I'm assuming. That's where she's generally been since Harry got back." Said Sirius idly, tongue between his teeth as he tried (and failed) to layer a lasagna with the minimum amount of spillage.

I nodded once. "Thanks… I think I might go and see what she's up to, I could do with the quiet after…" I trailed off, and pointed in the vague direction that I was planning on going awkwardly, then exited as fast as I could.

Hermione was indeed in the Black Library, right at the back, hidden behind shelves upon shelves of musty old books, curled up at the end of a sofa in front of a dimming fireplace, a small, black, leather bound book in her hands, half asleep. Harry was sitting at the other end, not much better himself, looking into the fire with a decidedly lost expression on his face.

"Harry…?" I called tentatively.

His head shot up immediately, looking over at me with surprise. "You're back." His throat sounded sore.

I smiled. "Yeah."

Hermione took one look between us and stood, closing her book. "I'll leave you two to it." She patted Harry's leg encouragingly and disappeared into the bookcases. I stood awkwardly for a moment longer, staring blankly at the floor before I managed to pluck up the courage to walk over to him and sit down beside him. He turned to look over at me with a grim expression on his face.

"How did it go? The funeral, I mean."

I winced. "You heard about that?"

"Well… yeah, I asked for you when you got back but they said you weren't here, so…"

I smiled slightly. "What did you want me for?" I asked.

He blanched. "I – well I dunno, really… I just…" he looked away, back toward the fire.

Getting up on my knees, I crawled over to where he was at the end of the sofa and took his head in both of my hands, forcing him to look at me. "Harry. When you… after… when you left." Was what I settled on, refusing to say it out loud. "Ron said something to me… that scared the shit out of me."

He frowned. "Like what?"

"Well…" I said lowly. "He said that I shouldn't have gotten myself into such a state. Because we didn't know each other very well. And you don't care for me as much as I'd like to think." I laughed shortly, failing to notice the small spark of recognition that flitted across his features. "I panicked. I thought that… what I mean is that I immediately doubted the friendship we already had, and worried that… that –" I honestly didn't know where I was going with this. What Ron had told me while Harry was… gone, was horrible, and I couldn't have described what had been going through my head even if I'd tried.

He took my hands and pulled them away from his face gently. "Ginny… you mean more to me then you probably should. Ron doesn't know a thing." He smirked at me, hesitating with a tilt of his head. "Would it be incredibly cliché if I asked you out after I'd already kissed you before now?"

"Yes." I said, shaking my head. "Don't do that. You'll make me cringe."

He laughed, breaking out into a grin. "You're incredibly romantically stunted for a girl, you know that, right?"

I smiled back. "Can't say I've noticed before." I squeezed his hands. "Not that it makes a difference. Surely you don't need to ask? Doesn't the answer say itself?" I bit my lip, shifting awkwardly where I sat.

He didn't answer, eyes falling to my lips as one of his hands slid out of mine and he used to tip of his thumb to pull my bottom lip out from the grasp of my teeth, palm brushing my cheek as he leaned in to kiss me gently. My eyes were still closed when he rested his forehead against mine. He was barely breathing, daring not to take in too much of his surroundings.

"Yeah, it does."

I raised my hand to carefully place it over his heart, like I had before, opening my eyes to catch him looking down at where it rested. The unnatural heat of his skin radiated through his shirt to my fingertips. His lifeless heart stood still in his chest and yet I still found myself pushing my hand down harder in an attempt to find just a simple flicker of movement.

Giving up, I clenched my hand around his shirt. "What was it like… when you were in that room?"

He moved back slightly, body still turned to face me, but his head resting against the back of the sofa. I mirrored him, curling up so that our knees were touching.

"I don't know." He said with a shrug. "I honestly can't remember. It's hazy; when I try and remember that week all I remember is intense pain. I thought my head was going to explode."

"Some people's actually do." I said.

He smiled. "You're kidding."

I shook my head. "No, seriously, you're lucky. Sometimes the infecteds body just can't take the strain, you feel like your heads going to explode because the receptors in your brain are changing form. Your bones are strengthening, muscles reshaping. Even in your eyes – your retinas were adapting to your new and improved sight. Surely you see the difference between when you were rapidly maturing after it kick started to after it had completed."

He nodded, slowly. "Everything's so much more vivid…"

I grinned. "You're pretty much spell proof. Natural spell damage regeneration. Minor spells don't affect you at all; the affects of stronger ones would heal gradually, same goes for physical wounds, should anything be strong enough to penetrate your skin. Were you to brake any bones, they'd reconnect, bonding together even stronger than before. You can hear things from miles away, pick out detail from far off ahead of you, beyond the distance of the human eye… you're immediately aware of everything around you. Vampires are built like machines, ready for battle…"

He pursed his lips. "Exactly what I need then, 'ey?" He half joked.

But I was frowning, touching his closest arm with both hands. "One thing though – you shouldn't be this warm!"

He looked confused. "What? Am I warm?"

"Yes! And you certainly shouldn't be."

"What- Gin, I don't-"

I grabbed his hand. "Come with me."

He let out a low complaint and shook his head. "Gin, whatever it is can it wait, please? I'm knackered. I honestly can't be bothered with Sirius and Remus fawning over me for an hour before concluding that they need healers to prod at me. Later."

"Harry… what if it's-"

"Please."

I let out a dejected sigh. "Fine. But you have to actually sleep. Like, now, otherwise I'm marching you downstairs right now."

He smiled at me thankfully. "Just shut up and come here." Then he grabbed me and fell back to half lie down across the sofa, pulling me with him to curl up beside him.

Once he was firmly settled, me lying comfortably next to him, random cushions positioned behind his head, I thought to ask. "When did you last sleep?"

He tilted his head back to the ceiling in thought. "At least a week ago."

I frowned at him and he shook his head, wiggling deeper into the chair. "It's a long story; ask Hermione, I'm sure she'd love to explain it to you in all its confusing glory."

I rolled my eyes. "Sleep!"

--

The smell of burning toast filled my senses, complete darkness surrounding me. Groggily attempting to roll over, I found myself unable, something heavy resting on my stomach. Reaching down cautiously, my fingers found Harry's hair, the crown of his head resting perfectly beneath the curve of the base of my ribs. Sighing with relief, I dropped my head back and relaxed again, taking a moment to wake up a bit more before reaching down to fumble for my wand, intending to light the lamps.

The moment I'd thought it the two nearest lamps flickered to life, and then dimmed down to a comfortable brightness. Shuddering involuntarily, I put it down to the magic of the house. It happened at Hogwarts sometimes. Looking down, I found that Harry had slid down beside me in his sleep, ending up curled up in the middle of the sofa, head using my stomach as a pillow.

I ran my fingers through it again absently, wiggling down a bit myself and burying my face in the cushions. Surely it wasn't possible to be this tired?

Then again, I hadn't slept at all the night before the funeral… Harry half groaned, half yawned softly and I removed my hand from his hair, watching as he stretched himself out along beside me, lying on his side while I was on my back. Level with me once again; he brushed my hair out of my face. I smiled.

"Are you alright with this?"

I frowned for a moment, trying to understand what he was getting at. "With 'this' me and you, here, now, or 'this' you being a vampire?"

"Both." He blurted, the word coming out in a gust of air that he'd been holding in. He took a deep breath inwards and immediately cringed, regretting it.

"Yeah, of course I am." I slid my fingers into the hair at the base of his neck and kissed him. "What about you? Is this…close proximity not difficult for you?"

He had his eyes closed, face slightly contorted, so I gently ran my thumb in slow circles on his neck until he relaxed again. "Yes. It is. But not as bad as with the others."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess I just know that no matter what the situation I wouldn't let myself hurt you. And that's definitely a defining thought." He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. "And besides, I'm going to Hogwarts in a couple of weeks, I'm going to have to practice being around people if I want to survive there. If there's even the slightest indication that I wouldn't be able to handle it, Dumbledore wouldn't let me go. He can't put me above the safety of the other students, and I wouldn't ask him to."

"No…" I agreed, turning onto my side as well and obliging to cuddle up to him. He was still really warm… I allowed myself a couple more minutes before nudging him lightly. I leaned back slightly so I could see him. "Oi, remember our deal?"

He scrunched up his face. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." I sat up and held my hand out to him, ready to pull him up with me. Begrudgingly, he took it, allowing me to lead him out of the library. We got to the door and it was me instead who hesitated. "Harry… after this… it's not going to get awkward is it?"

"Why would it?"

"Well… I've only ever really dated one other guy before you. And after Michael asked me out, everything got really awkward until we were comfortable around each other…" I frowned at him. "I don't think I can be bothered with the weirdness."

He grinned. "Then don't bother with it. We've known each other for longer than you've known him; we're already 'comfortable' with each other." He was mocking me, I could tell by the tone of his voice.

"Oh stop it, you know what I mean."

"Yeah… and if you stop worrying that it'll be weird, you'll fall into it easier. Now come on. You missed dinner last night. I'm gonna make you eat something while I'm talking to Sirius about this."

We got about as far as the landing on the first floor before another thought crossed my mind. I gasped. "Mum!"

"What about her?"

"What if she finds out, about _this."_ I clarified when I saw the clouded look coming over his face, holding up our entwined fingers. "And Ron… and the twins… Harry…" I pouted at him at the prospect of having to deal with Ron's indignation, my other brothers teasing and Mums cooing.

He laughed. "Then don't tell them."

"How can I not tell them? It's bloody obvious." I held up our hands again, waving them in front of his face.

He let me go, wandering off ahead. "I'm sure we can keep it quiet for two weeks until school… then you'll only have Ron to deal with."

"To be honest with you Harry, I think you'll be getting the brunt of that one." I followed after him, into the kitchen.

He grimaced. "I know."

Remus and Mary were having their usual morning coffee at the table. All thoughts of my brothers left my mind. "Where's Sirius?"

Remus gave us both surprised looks. "In bed, it's nine am, he makes it a point not to get up before 1 on a Saturday. I honestly don't think I've ever seen you two up this early so far…"

I shook my head. "Never mind that, feel Harrys arm."

Remus looked confused, and Mary, rolling her eyes, put down her coffee and touched his arm. "He's a little warmer than you'd expect but that's – oh…" her eyes widened.

Harry folded his arms, looking annoyed. "What?"

Mary gave him a condescending look. "Harry, you're warm. Vampires aren't warm. You're heart isn't beating, and you kinda need good blood circulation to be that hot. Surely you've noticed before now?"

"Well, no." He said indignantly. "I feel fine, to me." He frowned at the awkward wording. "Ginny's warm," he said, putting both hands on either sides of my cheeks. I blushed under their gaze. "I'm not, I'm…"

"Harry, your pretty much running a fever." I said, knocking his hands away from my face.

"Well I don't feel it!" he protested.

Remus stood up and walked over to press his hand onto Harrys forehead, making him tilt his head back. "You are worryingly warm, Harry."

He started to protest again and Mary wandered off to wake Sirius. Harry got annoyed and pushed Remus back, scowling at him. "Will you stop prodding at me, and get Ginny something for breakfast, she hasn't eaten since she was at Scarletts."

Remus did a double take, torn between the two. I made the decision easy for him. "Don't worry about me, I'll make myself some toast. I'm perfectly capable of cooking for myself."

"I'd beg to differ." Said Bill, wandering in through the front door. "Didn't you once manage to set your cereal alight?"

"Hush." I said, pointing at him in a mock menacing way.

He walked around the, now arguing Harry and Remus, and took the bread from me, doing it for me. "I thought you were going back to Gringotts today?"

He shook his head. "No, Fleurs after looking for a flat here, so I can take up a post at the British wizarding bank, something to do with wanting to get to know you lot better. That and Damien's wedding's in 3 days, Charlie needs help organizing the Stag do. It's complicated, apparently. To be honest he probably shouldn't have tried to do something so extravagant."

I'd forgotten that Charlie was the best man. The entire Weasley family was invited by default, being close friends of the family. Charlie is Damien's best friend, and therefore best man, Sirius and Remus had been invited, being friends of Damien's dad, and having known Damien and Juliette when they were kids for that reason, Mary had been a last minute addition, due to her being in New Zeeland until recently, Ron had invited Hermione as his 'plus-one' which everyone found hilarious. But then there was Harry.

Last I'd heard, James was planning on asking Sirius to bring Harry under glamour, so that he can test run a large crowd of people, and so that he wasn't on his own in the house for the entire day. I highly doubted that that was going to work though, what with him not knowing the bride or the groom from Adam and Eve. I was already anticipating his vehement refusal.

"When's this then?" I asked.

"The night before… You're staying at Scarletts' that night aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well they're starting off at the house, so you'll probably see Charlie at some point."

I grinned. Charlie was a brilliant thing to watch when mum wasn't around. He had a knack for getting himself into trouble, and then back out of it just as fast. The amount of times he'd 'accidentally' blown something up because he 'wanted to know what would happen', was rather impressive.

"Oh, piss off, Moo'." Said Sirius, yawning. Remus scowled at the shortening of his nickname. "There's nothing wrong with him, he's just being awkward." He nudged Harry playfully.

"He was ice-cold when I picked him up from the Ministry, this is new, and it shouldn't be happening." He argued, folding his arms.

Sirius mimicked him, hair ruffled and eyes half closed with sleep. "He'll be fine." He insisted.

"Sirius. You can't just dismiss that anything's wrong so you can go back to bed."

"I'm not." His voice was slightly higher than usual. "…but I am going back to bed now."

He turned to leave but Mary pulled him down into a chair. "Oh no you don't, you're up now, you can stay up."

As Sirius started to complain, and Remus continued to poke at Harry, Albus Dumbledore himself wandered into the kitchen like he'd been here the entire time. He smiled brightly. "Good morning, everyone. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, just popped by to say hello." Like hell he did.

Bill offered me my toast, but not before stealing a slice for himself.

"Just what we need." Cried Remus. "Albus, Harry's abnormally warm, especially considering he shouldn't be warm at all." He pointed at Harry, who glared at him.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me. I feel no different; I can't even feel the heat."

"Well, you _are_ warm, Harry." I told him, sitting down beside Mary and taking a bite out of my toast. "It's like sitting next to a space heater."

He opened his mouth to no doubt argue but Dumbledore cut him off by putting his hand on Harrys' forehead. "You are very warm." He said, stepping back to accept a mug of tea from Bill, who had now settled himself leaning against the counters behind me.

Then he sat down at the table and didn't say another word. Remus sat behind him. "So… what do you think?"

Dumbledore looked up in surprise. "What do I think? Nothing. He's fine."

"See! Moo' I fuckin' told you." Said Sirius, mouth full of what appeared to be cake, waving a spoon covered in chocolate sauce in his direction.

"Shut it you." He said, stealing the spoon, much to Sirius' protests. "Are you sure? Isn't that abnormal?"

"Yes." Replied Dumbledore, thoughtfully taking another sip of his tea. "But he'll be fine, don't you worry."

The glare Harry had been directing at Remus fell from his face. "What aren't you telling me? There has to be a reason. And if you're not worried, then obviously you don't need to find out why."

Dumbledore smiled. "You'll find out in your own time. It's not my place to interfere."

Harry didn't say anything, his brow creasing as he disappeared into his own thoughts.

Sirius, now having managed to get his spoon back from Remus, turned to Dumbledore. "So… you came here to say hello, because…?"

Dumbledore took a moment or two to answer. "Well… I have two new order members joining us soon. I'll be introducing them at the next meeting. I just wanted to run it by you, it'll be on the 29th, just before the kids go back to school, we need to assess whether or not Harry will be ready to go back. Harry can attend the meeting and we'll explain what's going to happen. If not… then we'll make other arrangements." He looked over at Harry. "Maybe being taught from here and reassessing the situation at Christmas? If you're not ready, you're not ready; I'd rather have you join the school year late than on time with risk."

Harry fell down into a nearby chair, the one, I noticed, that sat furthest away from everybody else. "I agree, sir." He ruffled his hair up at the back and doubled over in his chair, bracing his elbow on his knee.

He continued, addressing Harry directly this time. "I also think you should attend this wedding."

Harrys head shot up. "Why? What if-"

"A test." Dumbledore explained, cutting him off. "There are many order members attending. You are free to leave whenever you want, and knowing that might help. I just need to know if you can handle a simple situation such as that. You'll be safe, don't worry."

"I'm not worried about my safety!" exclaimed Harry. "I can barely sit here, now, never mind sitting in a room full of muggles for an hour."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Just the reception then. One hour. Then you can leave."

He looked torn, standing to his feet. "I – no!" he shook his head. "I can't risk that. Not yet." Then he stormed off, obviously pissed off.

Dumbledore sighed, pushing the half empty cup of tea away from him. "I'm afraid I should probably take my leave. I'll see you at the next meeting. Tell Harry that I have every faith in him."

--

Monday found Harry and I sat out on his balcony. The sun bled red as in past down behind the cityscape and cast a pink glow across his pale skin. It was slowly getting colder and I had to lean further into him in an attempt to warm up seeing as he was making no indication to going inside, and I didn't want to leave him on his own.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "The weddings tomorrow." I hinted, hoping against hope that he'd change his mind about going.

"Gin, I can't do it. I just can't." He pleaded with me to understand.

"Please, Harry. If you're fine with me, now, this close, what's the difference in a bunch of people at a far distance?"

"You really can't compare the two." He whispered, fiddling with my fingers on his stomach.

He's right, I couldn't. But that wasn't the point. "Harry, it's just a test run, feel free to walk in, then straight back out again, just try, for me."

He hesitated, and I knew that I wouldn't need to say much else to get him to agree. "I'll be there with you. So will Sirius and Remus. Just stay beside them if you really feel you have to go and they can apparate you out of there." I took his hand to steal his attention away from meddling with my fingers. "Please?" I punctuated it with a squeeze of his hand. "Give me 5 minutes."

He closed his eyes in defeat and nodded, once. I kissed him in thanks. "You'll be fine. I know you will."

"I hope you're right." He said darkly.

--

Groggily shaking myself out of whatever weird and twisted dream I'd landed myself in, the sound of shouting battered my eardrums. Thundering feet, loud bangs… the shower was running across the hall and there was a loud smash as someone dropped a plate in the kitchen.

I smiled to myself as an abrasive 'Whhaaayyy!' from a group of lads, no doubt Damiens mates, joined the fray. Everything went silent until one of them said 'Slow down Sylvia, you're going to hurt yourself.' I could have sworn that that was Charlie…

There was a series of scraping sounds, wood on stone as a couple of them slid their chairs back and got up to help. Sometimes I hated the fact that Scarletts bedroom was directly above the Kitchen. We were usually woken up around 7am by her mum and dad having breakfast before work.

Groaning and rolling onto my back, I finally opened my eye, just the one, then the second in surprise when I found Adam sitting next to my knees.

"Adam?"

He looked up. "Good, you're awake, it's 11:30, you need to get ready."

11:30?

"Ahhh, fuck." I threw the duvet back and jumped out of Scarletts bed, too quickly… bugger.

I doubled over as spots erupted in front of my eyes, getting the blood flow back to my head before I fainted. Adam snorted. I flipped my hair back and striated up, slowly. "Oh stop it." I looked at him properly and found him sat at the end of the bed looking severely bored, dressed in a black suit, blazer and all, his red tie done up, though his top button was undone so it'd slid down from its rightful position. He was wearing the right shoes though.

"Look at you! All dressed up."

He grinned. "I could say the same of you."

I looked down, remembering that I'd gone to bed in Harrys' hoody. I flushed, remembering why I had it in the first place. Sirius had come to discuss today and Harry had come along to see me for 10 minutes. I'd been soaked from when Adam had pushed me into Scarletts pond, and he'd cast a drying spell over me, seeing as Scarletts mum didn't condone magic from anyone in her house, and given me his hoody in an attempt to heat me up. I tried not to acknowledge the fact that its still smelled strongly of him, turning away from Adam in search of my dress.

"Where's Scarlet?"

"In the shower." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder to her bathroom. I turned to see the shower running and the curtain pulled around the bath in the bathroom on the other side of the small intersection between her bedroom and there. It was all open, with archways framing the doors.

"Does she know you're here?" I questioned skeptically, finding my dress hung on the back of her bedroom door.

"Oh yeah, she made me promise to sit in this exact spot until she was out."

"Then why in the hell didn't you wake me up?! The weddings at 2!" I demanded, scrambling to find some acceptable underwear.

He shrugged. "I figure it'd be funny to watch you running about trying to get ready in time. That and I just got here."

I sighed. "Whatever. I'm going in the shower. I'll see you in a bit." I ran across the hall to use the communal bathroom hastily showering and pulling on my dress, careful to keep my hair up in a towel, so I didn't get it wet.

When I got back, Adam was gone and Scarlett was standing in her knickers attempting to dry her hair with one hand and snap her bra into place with the other. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the clasp doing it for her, making sure it pinged back against her shoulder blades painfully. "You're such a spaz."

"Takes one to know one."

I ignored the childish jab and cast a quick drying charm on my hair. What Sylvia didn't know wouldn't hurt her. By the time Scarlett had dried her hair and gotten her bridesmaids dress on I was ready and waiting to go, her mum showing up in the doorway wearing a very pink dress, and a matching hat with a large flower on it. I tried not to cringe.

"Good! You're ready… hurry up, will you Scarlett, we have to be at the church in the next 10 minutes or we'll be late!"

"How the hell could we be late? He wedding doesn't start for another hour and a half." She complained, curling her eyelashes.

"Oh you'll know when we get there, this is a wedding, Scarlett, not one of your parties, now hurry up. Your brothers' already left with your father and his friends."

Sylvia ran off down stairs and Scarlett continued to take her sweet time putting her makeup on. After 20 minutes of waiting, her mother came back up, grabbed us both and we were gripped by a portkey straight to a room somewhere completely different. I could only guess that we were at the hotel where the reception was being held. Juliette was sat in a dressing gown having the finishing touches being added to her hair and makeup in the centre of the room. The other two bridesmaids, plus Rosie, the little flower girl/bridesmaid were ready to go.

Scarletts mum shoved her into a seat and began to sort out her hair. "What the hell have you done to it? It's sticking up at the back!"

Everything became increasingly hectic from that point onwards; Juliette's dad came in ready to escort her to the venue, everyone gushing about how beautiful she looked in the dress, her mum actually burst into tears at one point. And then, out of nowhere, Harry appeared in the doorway.

Juliette looked supposed as well, her father, John, did not. "Hello, Harry! Come to drop it off have you?"

Momentarily distracted, he glanced over at John Carter, Adams dad (who looked oddly like a gorilla in a suit at the moment). "Uh, yeah." He looked back at Juliette and handed her a velvet case. "I dunno if James told you… he said you had trouble finding something blue that you could get away with wearing today, then Sirius mentioned something about all this jewelry he hand lying about…" he trailed off awkwardly, not looking at all comfortable.

I'm pretty sure that this was the first time he'd ever actually met Juliette. Her face broke out into a smile as she flipped the box open. "Yes, he did! Thank you so much!" She kissed him on the cheek and pulled out a silver necklace with a series of sapphires entwined as the petals of multiple little flowers on the chain. "It's perfect, really, thanks Sirius for me?"

Harry nodded and I slipped out of the door after him. "What the hell are you doing here, all dressed up?" I asked, nodding to the suit he was wearing, though he wasn't wearing a tie, and he was wearing converse trainers… and there was a massive smudge of bright red lipstick on his cheek.

I snorted, pulling him toward a nearby bathroom before he could explain.

"Ginny! This is the girls' bathroom!"

"And? You've lipstick on your face, you look ridiculous."

I pushed him back against the counters where the sinks were and grabbed some toilet roll, running the tap. "Go on then, explain." I said, attempting to remove the greasy stain from his skin.

"I… well you know how Sirius is making me come? He's here helping James co-ordinate everything for the reception. I promised I'd help him… James has to leave in five minutes for the church and I'm not going to the wedding am I? So… here I am."

I nodded absently. "Fine. At least I won't get bored waiting." I grinned, leaning over to kiss him.

He hummed softly against my lips, pulling me to stand between his legs. "I thought no one was going to know?"

"Doesn't mean we can't hang around with each other, keep each other sane."

"You've never been sane." He countered.

I smacked his arm. "Oi!"

"Violent." He frowned, rubbing his arm despite the fact that I knew fine well I hadn't hurt him in the slightest.

We were ran down by Scarlet just outside the door, who shot Harry straight down with four words. "Are you wearing lipstick?"

He vanished back into the girls' bathroom. I ran my finger across my lips. Hadn't thought of that.

"Mum said to tell you that the church is just down the road and we're walking down there in like… 10 minutes. If you go downstairs, James is going to take you before us, so you'll get the chance to sit down with everyone else."

I nodded. "Alright." I added verbally, giving her a hug. "Good luck."

"You too." She replied slyly, looking over my shoulder at Harry as he reappeared, lipstick free.

She turned and sauntered off, looking rather pleased with herself, a self-satisfied smirk working its way onto her face. "Does she…" started Harry.

"Yeah." I admitted sheepishly. "I didn't bother with the camp bed last night, me and her top and tailed and I… well I slept in your hoody… but she'd already seen us around the side of the house before then anyway. Her bathroom window's directly above the spot we were standing on."

He raised his eyebrows at me and I flushed. "Don't say a word."

He grinned, showing far too many teeth for my liking, and hooked his arm with mine. "Wouldn't dream of it Gin-Gin." He said all too happily.

I bumped him lightly with my hip, smiling despite myself. "Of course you wouldn't." I honestly felt like skipping all the way down to the main hall, so happy as I was at the time.

If I'd known what was to befall me by the end of the day… I certainly wouldn't have stayed. I'd have ran, and never looked back.

--

The wedding itself was completely uneventful, boring even, the only highlight being the expression on the grooms face when Julie walked into the church. I'd honestly never seen a guy look happier in my life. They'd actually been a couple of minutes late, for whatever reason, so I'm not at all surprised, he'd been panicking until Scarlett had appeared at the end of the door briefly and held up two fingers to signify that she'd be in in 2 minutes.

Apparently she'd broken a heel on the way up. I honestly don't want to know how.

Harry was waiting at the back of the room in the hall, and I wasted no time in running off to go and keep him company.

"How've you been so far?" I asked, resisting the urge to stand too close to him in the wake of Sirius standing right beside him.

"Fine." He said shortly, tense, arms folded and fists clenched.

Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders. He flinched away slightly at first, but Sirius didn't seem to notice, completely at ease. "Everything'll be alright. You'll get used to it, and then it'll be easier."

I had to disagree. Usually after something has tempted you for long enough, you have to give in, the need for it becomes stronger, and it becomes more and more difficult to resist. It all comes down to restraint, and how much of it Harry had. The same thought went through his head and his face noticeably fell. He knocked Sirius' arm away, leaving him looking severely confused.

Without totally thinking it through, I slid my arms around Harry's middle and hugged him for a moment. "Stop it."

"Something I missed?" asked Sirius, nudging Harrys shoulder with his knuckles as Harry hugged me back.

"No." Said Harry. "Just… thinking the same thought I guess."

Sirius didn't ask what that might be, seeing the expression on his face all he needed. I loosened my grip on him, fully intending on staying where I was. Sirius sighed, ruffling Harrys hair. "I suppose you two are going to stay here during the speeches?"

Harry nodded. "I'll see you in a bit."

He took a deep breath, looking around at the people milling over to their seats at the top end of the room. "Take it easy, mate."

I watched him walk over to his seat before letting Harry go briefly to slide my hands beneath his blazer and around his back again, underneath. He pulled me close to him and rested his chin on my shoulder, taking a deep breath. "Thank you." He whispered.

"What for?" I asked, titling my head back to look up at him properly.

He smiled sadly. "For having faith in me. I don't deserve it."

I backed him up into a wall, behind a pillar and out of view of the other occupants of the hall. "What are you talking about? Don't be stupid, of course you do."

He shook his head. "You have no idea what's going through my head right now."

My eyes landed on the brilliantly white wall behind him and I saw it blood red for a second. I shook my head. "I don't care. You can do this, I know you can."

His face contorted with self loathing and I resisted the urge to hit him. "Stop it." I ran my hand up and down his back, trying to comfort him. "Harry you're the most wonderful bloke I've ever met, you couldn't hurt someone if you tried."

"I already have. Without this."

"It wasn't intentional." I argued, keeping my voice low to avoid detection from everyone else. We were at the back of the hall, and they were all seated at the front, but you could never be too careful.

"It wouldn't be intentional for me to lose control of the situation." He said heatedly. "I'd still be hurting people."

Digging my nails into his back lightly, I shook my head. "You won't lose control of the situation. I can promise you that."

He didn't look at me, keeping his head bowed. I took advantage and went up on my tiptoes, kissing him. "Gin… we shouldn't-"

I grinned. "I know, but you're annoying me, and they're all occupied." His face broke out into a genuine smile, allowing me to kiss him again.

--

Scarlett looked stunning, of course, in her… well, scarlet bridesmaids dress. Just standing next to her made me feel ugly. I mean, I know I'm not, but I still felt incredibly plain around her. Wrapping my arms around my middle and backing up off the dance floor, not watching were I was going. I hit something hard, at first thinking I'd bumped into someone before a pair of strong arms encircled my waist, taking my hands.

"You do realize that while the only reason I'm here is for you, and yet I've barely spent 2 minutes with you since everybody moved over here." He squeezed me gently, burying his face in my neck under the guise of my hair.

"And that was over an hour ago, well done." I turned my head slightly so I could see his face and smiled. "I was held hostage by Scarlett and her boyfriend."

He chuckled in my ear and I shuddered involuntarily as it vibrated though by back. "I figured. I've just managed to get away from Sirius."

I scanned the crowed the crowd for the elusive Black and saw him standing downing another glass of champagne by one of the tables on the other side of the room. Remus, standing beside him, pointed us out and they both waved. We waved back, my face flushing with embarrassment. How must we look?

"Do you think they know?" I whispered, despite the fact that the people in question were so far away.

"I think they might suspect something."

"I'm not surprised; we're not very good at hiding it…" I tilted my head back against his shoulder and smirked up at him.

He grinned back. "I can't help that I can't keep my hands off you."

"I'm sure that's something to do with you being a vampire." I joked.

He snorted. "I was thinking more along the lines of being a 16 year old guy around a pretty girl, but if you want to put it down to that then fine." He kissed my shoulder not-so-discretely, to accentuate his point, letting go of my hands and sliding his fingers over my stomach freely for a moment before hooking his hands together across my abdomen.

I tried to laugh, but he moved to kiss the juncture between my neck and my shoulder and it hitched in my throat. Nuzzling my neck, I giggled. "That tickles." I attempted to shy away from him but he wasn't having any of it. He smirked into my neck, which only served to make it worse.

He'd been right of course; it would only have been awkward if I'd made it be that way. It was actually surprisingly easy to fall into a relationship with him, even a secret one as it is. Secret… I groaned, tilting my head towards him and attempting to lean away from him. It didn't work. "Stop it, people will notice, then I'll have to explain everything to my family!"

He refused to let me go so I nudged him lightly. "You'll have to deal with Sirius."

He stopped immediately. I smiled, patting his cheek. "Good boy."

I stood watching Scarlett dance a while longer before being gratuitously interrupted by the blushing bride herself.

"Hi, Ginny. Enjoying yourself?" Her eyes flicked between me and Harry suggestively. Her cheeks were flushed with both excitement of the day and adrenaline with the dancing. She had a hold of the needs of her wedding dress, stopping herself from treading on it, and her hair was starting to fall out of those meticulously placed clips.

"Hey, Julie, of course I am! What about you? You just got married!"

She squealed almost childishly. "I know! I can't believe it!" She was bouncing on her heels.

I smiled, she looked so happy. I couldn't help the want for that in myself someday.

"So, Gin-Gin-" I cringed. "Why are you trying and failing to hide all of this?" she waved a hand between Harry and myself.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Ahh…well…"

I jumped in before he pulled out some more helpful words from his arsenal. "My family, you know, I figured if they find out once I'm in school, I only have to deal with Ron."

"Ahh, cunning, don't worry, I'll keep it shtum." She held a finger to her lips, then turned to Harry, holding out her left hand, wedding ring and all (which I'm sure was purposeful). "Juliette… Carter, I don't believe we've formally met."

Her eyes twinkled with the verbal usage of her new name. He shook her hand. "Harry Potter, it's lovely to meet you, Mrs Carter."

I was afraid she might explode at being addressed by that title, but she simply grinned. "And you, Harry. I've heard a lot about you…" She nodded to me.

Fortunately her new husband appeared out of nowhere to save me from Juliette's blurting. And in a weird way at that. He grabbed her forcefully from behind and pretty much growled. "You're my wife now, Dave."

She found it hilarious; I didn't get it at all. I looked to Harry for help and found him smiling. "It's a muggle thing."

"…Of course."

I reached forward and touched Julies arm, gaining her attention before her new husband whisked her away. "Thank you, for that." I whispered, nodding my head in Harry's direction. She'd treated him like a normal human being, someone she'd never heard of before, it was like he wasn't even famous. I knew that'd have meant the world to him.

She nodded, smiled, then winked. "My pleasure." And then they disappeared off into the crowd of family members out on the floor.

Harry went to hold me again, facing me this time, arms wrapped around my lower back, swaying with the music slightly. "You're not leaving my sight now." He murmured in my ear, pulling me up against him.

Giggling, without even thinking about it, I turned my head to the side, capturing his lips with mine. He didn't protest, pulling me even closer and running a hand up my back to my hair, kissing me back. We got far too carried away, and by the time I'd pulled back for air I was too distracted to realize that pretty much anyone could have seen that. Harry wasn't.

"Fuck, Gin…" He whined. "People."

I groaned and closed my eyes, refusing to look. "Who saw?"

"Adam, I'm sure of, everyone else is busy…"

I looked up, finding Adam standing grinning at me with a beer in his hand, not too far away. Scanning the room I found no one else hand noticed… apart from Sirius, who had just high-fived Tonks. He was smirking at Harry rather vindictively.

He made a noise that was a cross between a groan and a wine, letting me go. "Sorry Gin, I have to hide." Then he disappeared, Sirius noticeably swearing.

Adam came bounding over, and I took his beer out of his hands, putting it down on a nearby table. "I do not know, nor care where you got that from, but you can leave it there."

He pouted at me. "What about Relentless? I hid some in the other room."

"You freak, why?"

"My mum'd kill me if I got drunk, and I don't feel like drinking fucking juice."

I snorted. "Would one like me to go get you one?"

"Aye. Two. Then one for you."

"Two?"

"One for each hand."

"I repeat: Freak. It's not like you need the energy."

"Shut up and get me my drink, woman." He joked, grinning at me.

I shoved him lightly, grinning back. "Where'd you hide them?"

"Under my sisters dressing table." He said, pointing up to the ceiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Right… you stay here, and don't bother anybody!"

He gave me a dirty look. "And why would I do that?"

I pointed at him warningly, then turned and walked out of the hall. Or tried to. Harry ran right into me, steadied me, then ran off again. Watching him go in confusion, I was almost ran down again by Tonks. She doubled over, one hand on my shoulder, and the other on her hip. "Did you see where he went?"

"Harry? No." I lied.

She stood straight and gave me a disbelieving look. "He just bumped into you, don't lie."

"Why do you want to know?"

She went quiet and tilted her head suddenly. "Hey, Ginny… when exactly did you and Harry hook up?"

"Ho- no, we're not…"

She laughed loudly. "Of course you are! Now come on, Gin-Gin, when did you get together."

I frowned at her. "…3 weeks ago… technically."

"HAH!" I jumped. She gave me a quick hug then ran off towards a slowly approaching Sirius. "You owe me 20 galleons."

I felt my face heat up with anger. "You were betting on when we got together?!"

Sirius grinned."Oh come on, it was obvious you two were going to get together at some point, we just didn't know when."

"How many people were in on this?"

He shook his head, laughing lowly. "It's best if you don't know, love."

Running my fingers though my hair, no doubt ruining it, I shook my head derisively and finally managed to walk out of the hall. Tonight was going to be fun.

Harry was going to kill me. Then Ron was going to kill Harry. Damn…

I was coming up to the grand staircase ahead of me, head bowed and feeling rather sorry for myself when I, for the, what? Fourth time that night? Bumped into someone. Stepping back and apologizing profusely, I didn't quite get a good look at the blokes face until I tried to walk past him to the first step and I was forced back.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? That was an accident_, mate,_ no need to get violent!" I growled, shaking his arm off of mine.

But he wouldn't let go, pulling me forward. Rather than struggling, I looked up to see who it was, and found the glaring face of Gregory, Juliette's boyfriend. My blood ran cold and I felt the colour drain from my face, heart falling to my feet. "Oh… Greg, I-"

He shook me harshly once, then released me, and I stumbled back. "You! It is you, isn't it? Ginny Weasley."

"I – yeah, I'm Ginny, but – "

"Oh don't try to justify what you did! It's your fault! She died, in the most horrifying way possible, in pain, crying for help, and you caused it!" the anger, and anguish in his eyes made me take a couple of steps back, and slowly at that. I needed to get out of here. Now.

"Greg, I'm so sorry, I –"

"DON'T APOLOGISE!" he shouted.

I glanced at the slightly open doors I'd came through and hoped against hope that someone would come out soon, relieve me from this confrontation. But the music was too loud, and everyone was too busy getting drunk, having fun, to bother to leave the hall.

He took another step towards me.

"YOU, you, Ginny Weasley, don't get to say sorry! Because it's not enough, it never will be, because it won't bring her back, not ever."

"I never meant for-"

"You have to understand." He pleaded. I took another step back, but he followed me forward.

"You have to understand, that you did this, you can't get away with this, Ginny. People may tell you that it wasn't your fault, that it wasn't you, who killed her. But you MAY AS WELL HAVE!" He grabbed my upper arms and I flinched back at the sudden raise in volume.

I couldn't bring myself to fight back. I deserved it, I know I did. I needed someone to yell at me, to tell me that it wasn't okay, and it was my fault. Because I knew it was, and I didn't deserve people's sympathy. Frozen, and scared of what he was going to do, I tried to move out of his grip.

"I wish you'd died instead of her." He whispered with such emotion that I wanted to cry.

I think I was, but I couldn't be sure.

"You should have been killed, not her." He gripped my arms tighter.

I tried to squirm out of his grip, but he was holding on too tight, my arms starting to burn, and the moment he noticed me trying to get away he shook me slightly. "You have to understand." He repeated.

"You need to get it_, into your little head_, that it's your fault. You have _no _right being here, around her friends, and family. Because they all wish it was you." He said quietly.

I preferred the shouting.

"I know, I do, I understand."

"No you don't!" He cried, and then he was shouting again, and I felt myself screaming back.

"I WISH IT WAS ME TOO!" It carried over whatever he was shouting, and I finally felt the tears streaming down my cheeks, hot and calescent. "I wish… I wish that I was in her place, that they'd killed me, and not her. She didn't deserve it, she shouldn't have died."

But he still wasn't letting go, and the look on his face was really starting to scare me. I tried to move back out of his grip but he pulled me forward again. I braced my hand against his chest, pushing him back. He squeezed my arms tighter still and I began to panic, my heart thudding to a rhythm beyond anything I've ever heard before.

"You shouldn't be here." He said. "You don't deserve to be here."

I managed to turn my body away slightly, and pushed my hand into the side of his neck, trying to break free, but it wasn't working, my hand was burning, my arms were aching, bruised, I'm sure, my head was spinning, my knees going weak… Squeezing my eyes tightly shut I turned my face away, unable to look at that raw expression on his face any longer.

I couldn't breathe.

And then he let me go. Just like that. I stumbled back, managing to catch myself before I hit the ground, standing on shaking legs. I backed up as far as I could get myself to go, a piercing sound coursing through me. Slowly, as I came back to myself a bit, I realized he was screaming. No words. Just noise.

The right side of his face was a horrible charred red, running right down his neck. He was bleeding, the acrid smell filling my senses at that moment made me feel ill. The coppery smell of the blood, and an unknown scent that was reminiscent of lightening and ash. The doors burst open, and people were running out into the hall, to the source of the disturbance. I could see mum, looking at me with wide-eyes, shocked.

They were all shouting as well, running over to him. And he said three words that brought me to my knees.

"It was her!"

They were looking at me, staring, and glaring, surprised, even angry. My hands were shaking, like the rest of me. Looking down, I found my right hand red. Completely covered in blood, his blood. The noise was unbearable, and the smell was making me feel ill.

Out. I needed out.

Shooting to my feet, I swayed, light headed and dizzy. Sprinting, and stumbling for the fire exit, I managed to get out into the fresh air. Wading through the grass, and leaning against a tree bordering the wall around the hotel, I doubled over and panted for breath. Why couldn't I breathe? The smell was still around me, and it was suffocating me. Sliding down the tree trunk, probably ripping my dress, I sat on the ground and tried to calm down. Think clearly.

It wasn't working.

Two sets of feet came thundering out after me, and before I knew it I was being enveloped in a hug from Sirius, on my feet, the blood on my hands staining his white shirt. I was still crying, and I found I just didn't care anymore. He was rubbing my back. "Hey… hey come on Gin, it's alright, just breathe, okay? Deep breaths."

"I can't." I gasped, finding myself holding onto him for dear life. I didn't think to see who the other person with him was, that they were seeing me break down like this.

"Yes you can, come on, do it with me…"

It took Sirius 15 minutes to get me to breathe properly, but I still couldn't think straight, I still couldn't calm down, and I certainly hadn't stopped crying. This wasn't me. I didn't cry, I didn't let people get to me; I was a strong, independent young woman. And he'd broken me.

Sirius was still holding me, talking to me, trying to calm me down to a state of actual speech, but I couldn't seem to get my head screwed on straight. His face, burning, in the forefront of my mind, and the fragmented image of Juliette dead, on those blood stained sheets that I'd fabricated all those weeks ago. Everything he said, and everything that Adam had said, spinning through the images like a twisted spider web.

Sirius was letting me go. Someone else took a hold of me, and something warm fell over my shoulders. Sirius was shouting, and someone was asking for me. But none of it made sense.

"I don't know what idiot called you here, but she's clearly in no state to talk to you! What are you, trainees? Get out of my sight!"

The acrid smell from before waned and a new one came in its place. Harry. My shoulders slumped, and I heard him whispering in my ear. The thought that he'd seen me in this state, that he was the one who had come out with Sirius flew to the back of my mind as I let him comfort me. I didn't deserve it, I knew that I didn't, and yet… I couldn't muster up the energy to stand on my own anymore.

I felt myself being pulled up into the air, carried away from the building. Relief washed over me in waves. Harry sat down somewhere warm, bringing me with him. Finally opening my eyes and looking up at him, I found myself in the passenger's seat of Sirius' car, wearing Harrys blazer on my shoulders, Harry himself looking down on me with concern. He pushed both hands through my hair, kissing me on the forehead, wiping the tears from my cheeks. It hurt; they felt sore, and swollen. I wasn't surprised.

I must look awful.

"You feeling better? Physically, I mean." He corrected, quickly.

I took a deep breath and tried to speak. "Yeah." It came out in a rasp. "But my head hurts…" He gave me a sympathetic look, and kissed my forehead again, pulling my head down to rest on his shoulder.

"Just relax, for now Gin, you don't have to tell us anything if you don't want." He was rubbing my back again, and I hummed in response.

I think I may have dozed off for a little while, I'm not sure, but when I came to Sirius was speaking to me.

"Ginny?" He asked softly, his hand on my lower back.

Turning to the source of his voice I saw him kneeling by the open door. "Yeah?"

"You're mum, she wants to see you, she's worried sick."

I didn't want to see her. I couldn't deal with the fuss, not now. Reading the expression on my face, he nodded once. "Right. I'll tell her you're asleep... and we'll take you home." He handed me a bottle of water from inside. "Drink this, keep calm. I'm going to need an explanation when I get back, no matter how brief, and simple it is." He warned.

I nodded once, and opened the bottle with slight difficulty, my hands still shuddering. The blood was gone, and I had to assume that Sirius had gotten rid of it before. I must have downed at least half of it in one go. Wiggling a bit, more aware of my surroundings, I was suddenly very conscious of where I was. "I'm not too heavy am I?" I asked, looking at him cautiously.

He snorted. "Don't be thick."

Sirius was running towards the car. "Feet in. Now. Quickly." Doing as I was told, awkwardly arranging myself on Harrys lap, he slammed the car door down, jumped in the driver's seat and we shot off. My stomach jerked horribly.

"Ugh, don't do that." I dropped one hand to my stomach.

Sirius cringed. "Do tell me if you feel ill, Ginny, I'll stop."

I nodded once, taking another large gulp of water.

Harry wrapped both arms around my waist, sliding his legs apart slightly so I was sat between them, with my back against the car door. "Why the hurry."

"Molly didn't exactly agree with my plans… She didn't know where I'd put you two so… I've pretty much kidnapped you, Ginny." He grinned at me.

I managed a small smile back.

"Do you want me to take the long way back? I mean… We're still up North, so it's going to take a while to get back anyway, but we could apparate straight back if you want to."

"The long way." I said, hoping to delay seeing everyone else for as long as possible.

Sirius nodded, turning off onto a main road. "Are you going to explain what happened?"

I hesitated, feeling Harrys fingers grazing my stomach in what was definitely a calming manner. "I… I was only going out to grab Adams stash of Relentless. I ran into Gregory by accident and he… wouldn't let me go." His hand stopped and he looked up at me with a veiled expression. "He was shouting, telling me it was my fault Julie died, that he wished it was me in her place, and that I had no right being there."

Sirius sighed. "What happened to his face?"

"I – I don't know." I whispered. "He was shaking me, and he had a hold of my arms, I couldn't move, so I tried to push him away, my hand was on his neck, and the next thing I knew he was screaming, and my hands were covered in blood… I didn't… how could I have done that?"

"I think you did." He said quietly. "By accident. I'm not sure how, but you did." I looked away, out of the window. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

I was slowly coming to regret watching the trees woosh by as it started to make my head hurt. I groaned, and Sirius was already slowing down. "Alright?"

"No, I mean, yes, I'm fine, don't worry." I put my head down in an attempt to hide from the sun. Everything was far too bright. "What the hell's wrong with me?" I said, to no one in particular.

"You're in shock, and, if I'm right, magically drained. Whatever you did before exhausted you completely. You need to recharge, when we get back we'll get a good meal in you and you can sleep it off."

I nodded, leaning into Harry. "Alright."

--

Again, I must have fallen asleep, only when I woke up next everything was pitch black, the lights on the dashboard glowing at me through the darkness. We were moving quite fast, the rumble of the car vibrating through me; Harrys' fingers were tracing circles absently on my stomach again. Sitting up slightly, the world spun around me, disoriented, not sure of where I was. Harry grabbed hold of me and my stomach lurched again.

"Sirius, stop the car." It sounded like I was hearing him from underwater.

Everything came to a sudden halt, which definitely didn't help. Getting out of the car as fast as I could, I stumbled, and ended up doubled over puking up everything I'd eaten since this morning. Groaning and gasping for breath, I felt Harry draw my hair back out of my face. I didn't know whether to thank him or tell him to get the fuck away from me. I was shaking violently, leaning heavily against the nearest tree to me for support.

Once my stomach had settled, I turned, leaning back against the tree. Everything was still too bright, even in the darkness, my head was spinning, and my stomach was still aching dully. Harry handed me that bottle of water and continued to look at me with that same concerned expression on his face.

"Good call." I told him.

He didn't smile. "You look like hell."

"Thanks." I told him sarcastically.

He looked away from me with a frown. "You're really pale, shaking… I'm just worried, that's all."

"No need to be." Called Sirius from a few meters behind. "Like I said, shock, and exhaustion. Her magical core needs to refuel, then she'll be fine. It's perfectly normal, nothing to worry about." Handed me a bar of chocolate, which I really didn't appreciate, just the thought of it making me gag. "Just eat it, it may seem unappealing now, but it'll keep you going until we get home… I think I might take a short cut or two to get there sooner."

I shook my head. "My mum-"

"You're going to run into her anyway, Ginny. I'm sure she's going to be more occupied on getting you better than what happened back there. Come on, get back in the car."

I froze at the thought of why I was feeling like this in the first place, suddenly unwilling to move at all, but Harry pulled me back towards the car. "You're alright, Gin, just try not to think about it."

Yeah, because it was that simple.

_A/N: That's why I don't like sleeping in moving vehicles, not because it makes me ill, just because when I wake up I don't know where we are, and it's disorientating. I also have a friend who can drink a lode of energy drinks and still not have them affect him at all. Sometimes they even make him tired, which is weird... Over 12 000 words. I hope the sheer length on this makes up for the lateness of this chapter =] I just hope it wasn't too awful, or choppy, I've had a lot on my mind recently, and it's affecting my writing =/_

_The next chapter is pre-written, and will be posted on Thursday, if you're all nice =D_


	14. Blood

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_**Quote: **_"I'm going to turn fifteen tomorrow," I said, warming to the idea. "It's high time. I can't remember when I turned fourteen. We've got to start writing this stuff down. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to be fifteen. So we need a party."

"If you get to be fifteen, then I get to be fifteen!" Iggy sounded indignant.

I looked at Fang. "Wanna be fifteen?"

His smile melted me. "Yeah."

_Excerpt from the book Fang, in the Maximum Ride series… books about a group of kids with wings – yay!_

_**

* * *

**_

AN: Sorry, Internet troubles! My router overheated, so I've been without broadband until now, while I'm at my mates in Manchester... anyway, on with the apprehensively posted chapter.... =/

**

* * *

**

Chapter Fourteen: Blood

* * *

_Previously: I shook my head. "My mum-"_

_"You're going to run into her anyway, Ginny. I'm sure she's going to be more occupied on getting you better than what happened back there. Come on, get back in the car."_

_I froze at the thought of why I was feeling like this in the first place, suddenly unwilling to move at all, but Harry pulled me back towards the car. "You're alright, Gin, just try not to think about it."_

_Yeah, because it was that simple._

* * *

Ginny was still sound asleep when we got back to Grimmauld Place. I had to wait for Sirius to come and open the passenger's seat door so that I could carry her back into the house, and of course, by then everyone else was already back and waiting to pounce, demanding answers. It was the sheer magnitude of the sound coming from every member of the Weasley clan that woke her up seconds through the front door.

Opening her eyes blearily, she looked up at me in surprise, yawning. "I was dreaming that I was flying… couldn't think why…" she looked down at the floor and I grinned, letting her down. Her fingers dug into my shirt for support, swaying as her feet finally touched the ground.

"Where the hell where you?!"

I winced as Molly Weasley's outraged tone hit my senses, and Mrs Black's portrait began to scream. Bill and Remus went to close the curtains on the old woman, but that wasn't stopping Mrs Weasley.

"We've been worried sick! Bloody Aurors swarming around…"

Ron rolled his eyes. "There were two, mum. And they were trainees."

She turned to glare at him, and Sirius took the opportunity to jump in before she got into full swing. "We took the scenic route back. To give her time to calm down. I'll explain everything in a minute, but first, she needs a good meal in her."

Molly went straight into mothering mode, ushering Ginny out of my arms and into the Kitchen with Sirius, where they obviously intended to discuss affairs while she cooked. Ron turned to me, looking confused as hell. "Seriously, mate, what the hell happened back there? That bloke was bleeding everywhere, and Ginny was off crying…"

His older brothers turned to look at me as well and I blanched. "Well… uh… the guy was Greg, Juliette's boyfriend."

Bill swore lowly, throwing himself down on the bottom step, scowling in my direction, though not at me. "What did he say to her?" he demanded.

"She said that he told her it was all her fault that Juliette died and if it weren't for her she'd still be here. He said that Ginny should have been the one to die, not her, and she was going to pay for what she did. He had her by the shoulders, she told him to get off but he wouldn't, he started shaking her, trying to make her understand and she put her hand on his neck, trying to push him away…"

Charlie's eyes widened. "She did that burn mark?"

"How'd you know it was a burn?" Fred… or George, one of them, asked from where they were leaning against the wall by the kitchen, obviously listening in on the conversation their mother and little sister were having in the Kitchen with Sirius.

He shrugged. "Well I've seen more than a few haven't I?" He said, pointing at a rather nasty looking scar across the underside of his jaw.

"How did she do that?"

They all turned to me again. "Well… Sirius said it was accidental magic… She was in shock, slept most of the way back here and we had to stop at one point because she was physically ill… He says that as long as she gets a good meal in her and sleeps well she'll be fine by morning. It takes a lot of energy to do wandless magic, and what she did drained her."

But Bill was shaking his head slowly, his hands in his hair. "No… you do accidental magic when you're younger, a magical child, usually it starts at about six months and stops completely after the age of eight. There are slight variations, everyone's different, but it's never been seen as normal after the age of around nine."

If my heart had still been beating I'm sure it would have stopped in that moment. "I've done accidental magic before now, you know that. I blew up my aunt for Merlin's sake!"

The memory of that incident brought smiles upon both the twins and Ron's faces instantly, Charlie, however, laughed. "Yes, but that's you, Harry, you're the boy-who-lived, beyond remarkable. You stopped Voldemort when you were one, I mean, look at you now! You were a Vampire and you didn't even know it. You really can't compare that to Ginny."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, fine, but it still happened. She was distressed, and wanted out, anything could have happened."

Bill sighed. "Yes, but she still burnt him, I don't know how she managed that wandlessly but I highly doubt that it was accidental magic."

All of them went silent as they pondered exactly what was going on with their younger sister.

* * *

I was sat flicking through a bunch of old photos Sirius had fished out of the boxes littering the halls later on that day (morning, technically), when Ginny appeared in my doorway, wrapped up in that purple fleece she kept nicking from the airing cupboard on the floor below looking thoroughly knackered. She leant against the doorframe and watched me for a few moments before speaking up.

"Harry?" she called softly.

"Uhmm?" I hummed wordlessly, closing the albums slowly.

She hesitated. "When you were a kid… did you ever do that thing where you make a sort of den out of your blankets and hide away from everything else?"

I paused in piling up the albums and looked over at her in surprise. The memory of all those times I'd had to do my homework by torchlight under the covers at the Dursleys came to mind. "Sure, why?"

She pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly, touching it to the door frame, a slightly desperate expression on her face. For some stupid reason that was enough for me to understand what she wanted. I stood and shoved the albums on the desk. "Come on then. I'm not doing this myself."

Ten minutes later I was lying shrouded in darkness under a tent held up by a mixture of magic and a careful placement of pillows, Ginny curled up on my right. I could just make out the outline of her face, but I guess that was just my eyes.

"Thanks for this." She whispered. "I dunno what I'd do if…" she sighed. "I've been trying to go back to sleep since ten and I can't do it. Everything just keeps coming back to me. I'm starting to understand why you never sleep. I mean… you've got Voldemort on your mind, everything you've been through. I'm stuck with the death of my best friends auntie on my conscience, whatever the hells going on with me and my magic after what I did to Greg and those bloody Vampires are after me." She paused. "Every time I close my eyes all I can see is her…"

She rolled over away from me to face what would have been the wall, her red hair glowing at me in the darkness. I reached out for her and managed to catch her by the waist, pulling her back.

"It was like that with Cedric, at first. All I ever did after he died was think about how I could have prevented it, how it was my fault for making him take the cup. For months afterwards all I dreamt about was that flash of green light, all I could see was him, dead, and all I could hear was the sound his mother made when she realised that something was wrong. But… that kinda thinking will get you nowhere, Gin. There's no sense in lingering on it, it's only ever going to do your head in."

"And I'm just supposed to forget?" she whispered.

"No." I admitted. "It's something that you'll never forget; it'll stick with you for the rest of your life. You just have to learn to live with it, and understand that no matter which way you twist it in your head; you couldn't have done anything to prevent it. It wasn't your fault, Gin."

She went quiet for a while as I ran my thumb across the dip in her waist. "Go to sleep, Ginny. You'll feel better in the morning, I promise."

I rubbed her side in what I hoped was a comforting way then made to move back to give her some space when she grabbed my hand and pulled my arm back around her middle, lacing her fingers with mine.

"Stay where you are."

* * *

Both of us where woken rather rudely with a jolt at lunch time later that day by Sirius, ever subtle, slamming the door off its hinges.

"Get your lazy arse out of bed! It's half past twelve."

I groaned loudly in protest as he came in all too cheerful, flinging the curtains open, allowing in very much unwanted light. Rolling onto my back, I reached up and yanked down the rest of the makeshift tent, being sure to bend my knees and bunch it up as much as possible in a vague attempt to keep the fact that Ginny was under there somewhere from my godfather. Ginny didn't seem to want to play that game, purposefully rolling over with me and flinging an arm across my chest. Sirius continued on, oblivious.

"You know I think I might teach you to apparate today." He said idly, folding his arms and tilting his head to the right like a curious dog.

"That simple, is it?" I asked sarcastically, wishing he'd hurry up and leave.

He grinned. "You'd learn this year at school but that won't be until May… or something… I forget when I did mine… passed first time though."

"Good for you."

"Oh don't be so pedantic!" he half scolded, unfolding his arms. "I figure it'd be useful for you to learn sooner… I mean, you might need to leave in a hurry and while portkeys and floo-ing are great, it's not very specific, you're either going to the place the portkey was designated to take you, or to a building of somesort. If you need to get away in a hurry it needs to be a bit more specialised. You can just stumble over yourself a little bit when they teach you in school."

My mind was completely blank. It was way too early in the morning to even try to comprehend what he'd just said. That and Ginny had taken to swirling her fingers across my stomach. "…What?"

He started to speak very slowly. "I'm going to teach you how to apparate. Just in case you need to get out of a situation quickly."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Technically, yes, but while you're under this roof your magical trace isn't in effect. We can write off any other incidents you may have in the future through the Order. A lot of us are stationed throughout the Ministry." He grinned. "They're good at making things go away."

I slumped back against my pillows. "Right." I closed my eyes against the sun coming in through the exposed glass doors to the balcony Tonks had 'installed' a while back.

"Yeah. So hurry up and get down stairs. I'll meet you in the back garden in thirty minutes."

I gave a grumbled response, eyes still closed, but obviously he planned to ruin my day further, turning to smirk in my direction from the doorway on his way out. "Oh, and good morning, Ginny!" He slammed the door again.

My eyes flew open and Ginny's hand froze, flinging the blankets off of her face. Her hair was a mess from being under there all night. "Did he just…"

I glared at the door. "Yes."

She was completely silent for a second before snorting with laugher, soon falling into a bout of giggles. "How did he know I was there?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I honestly have no idea."

She pursed her lips. "Well… As long as he doesn't tell one of my brothers that he found me in your bed this morning, right?" I winced visibly and she laughed, kissing my cheek. "They wouldn't hurt you… at least I don't think they would. They know you, what you're like; they're not allowed to hate you because you're dating me."

"No… but they might hate me if they get the wrong idea about this." I gestured to the mess of blankets that had been Ginny's requested den.

She rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying."

I smiled at her slightly at the expression on her face. She looked an awful lot better than last night. "You feeling alright?"

She nodded slowly. "Now, yeah… We'll see about it after them lot down stairs have anything to say on the matter." Then she threw the blankets back and smirked. "I'm stealing your shower." Then she disappeared into my bathroom and locked the door.

Rather than being indignant of the fact that she'd stolen my bathroom, I focused more on the fact that she'd forgotten that she didn't have any clothes to change into after she gets out.

* * *

"Sirius, I can't do it!" I called over at him from the opposite side of the garden, where he was stood looking rather smug, having apparated from one side of the garden to the roof, then back down again to 'show me how it's done'.

He shook his head. "You can, you're just not concentrating hard enough! You need to relax, think of nothing but where you want to go. Picture it clearly in your mind and see yourself there…"

I glared at him. "I am, and you've said that six times!"

He walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Right, close your eyes, and take a deep breath."

I gave him a funny look and he decided to clarify the instructions. "I know you don't need the oxygen, Harry, but you can still take in air, it helps to keep you relaxed." I continued to stare at him and he squeezed my shoulders. "Just do it."

I sighed, doing as I was told.

"Good, now picture where you want to go, see it in your mind, everything about it, every little detail, right down to the singular blades of grass, the colour of the sky, the texture of the fence." He went quiet for a moment while I tried to concentrate on the image of what was behind Sirius at the end of the garden.

He let go of my shoulders and walked around to stand just behind me. "See yourself there, where you want to be… take a deep breath, and turn."

Once I was happy that I was calm enough to try it, I turned on the spot. Nothing happened.

Sirius sniggered behind me. I whirled to glare at him. "It's not working, Sirius, I can't do it."

"Yes you can." He said in an encouraging, albeit slightly sarcastic, tone.

"Sirius, we've been doing this for 5 hours, and I still can't apparate."

"Oi, we had a break in between!" I folded my arms and stared him down. "AND you can't expect to be able to do it so soon… besides, you are nearly there, you shimmered, as you turned. Disappeared for like a millisecond, came back, then shimmered out of focus. You're getting there, I promise."

I pursed my lips. "If you say so."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do say so. Now come on, we can pick this up tomorrow." He put his hand on my back and shoved me in the direction of the back door, leading to the kitchen. Mary was in there drinking tea with Ginny. Zeus was lying across the floor by the fireplace in the far corner of the room, half asleep, basking in the heat of the flames flickering behind him.

"How about now, you got it yet?" asked Mary, sitting on the counter.

I glared at her and she bit back a laugh. "I take that as a no, then?"

I sat down beside Ginny while Sirius repeated the phrase 'he's getting there' to her as she began to explain that everyone's had their tea, and they were free to go out for dinner. I'd forgotten about that…

Ginny nudged me lightly. "Head in the clouds?"

I snorted. "Yeah, I wish, at least then I'd know I was getting somewhere."

She tilted her head slightly. "I wonder if you could charm a cloud solid enough to be able to sit on it? You could fly up… it'd be nice…"

"Cold though."

She nodded in agreement, taking a drink of her tea. Ron appeared through the kitchen door with Hermione. "How'd your lesson go?"

I shook my head. "Rubbish."

He laughed at me, loudly, and sat down beside Ginny. Hermione shoved him angrily. "Don't be so mean, Harry you'll get it eventually."

I winced. "Don't say that to me ever again, please."

She smiled at me; sitting down on Ron's other side. "But you will! It's a difficult thing, apparation, and dangerous when you're learning. You'll be fine; I can guarantee that you'll have it sorted soon."

Sirius nodded. "Exactly. Listen to her, Harry, she speaks sense." Mary smacked his arm. "Ow, will you stop being so violent, woman!"

She shoved him again, and then walked off into the hall to find her shoes. Sirius glared after her for a moment before ruffling my hair. "We're going out to dinner tonight, so we might not be back 'til late. I'll see you later though…" He looked over at Ginny and continued in a mock menacing tone. "And you watch where you fall asleep next time; it might not be me who comes to wake you up."

I dropped one hand onto the table with a thud. "How did you even know?!" I demanded.

He tapped his nose in a 'trade secret' kind of way and smirked at us both before sauntering off after Mary.

"What the hell was that about?" asked Ron, looking over at me suspiciously.

"I couldn't sleep." Shrugged Ginny. I squeezed her arm under the table and shook my head. I'd rather Ron didn't try and kill me, thanks. She ignored me. "So I went to go and talk to Harry, I knew he'd be awake and he knew what was going on in my head… only I fell asleep and Sirius came to wake him up this morning and knew I was there."

Ron just blinked. "…Right."

I raised my eyebrows, that's it? Hermione giggled. "Is that why you smell like Harry?"

A slow glare came over Ron's features and I shook my head at Hermione, who didn't notice.

"No, that's because I used Harrys shower this morning and forgot that I didn't have anything of my own with me."

Ron turned to me, ears going red. I put my head in my hands and refused to look at him. She did smell a bit like me, I hadn't really noticed anything other than her usual flowery scent was lacking. She'd come out of the shower in a towel and gone downstairs to get dressed with a massive smirk on her face; I hadn't really taken notice of much else after that.

Hermione nudged Ron to take his full attention away from me. "Have you finished all your homework?"

"_Yes_." He said in a slightly strained voice.

"And you've started to pack for Hogwarts?"

"Well, no, Hermione, we don't leave until Sunday."

"Today's Thursday, Ron, you've got tonight and tomorrow to find all your stuff and pack it away, not to mention all the stuff you need to collect from the Burrow! Come on, I'll help." She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of his seat.

"But Hermione…" He started to whine.

"No but's, I know what you're like, you'll leave it all to the last minute and then you'll end up with it all to do on Sunday morning!"

While Ron continued to complain, Hermione pushed him out of the kitchen door and turned to me, smiling at me triumphantly. She'd managed to distract him from throwing one. Hermione was rather sneaky really, not many people saw it. I mouthed 'thank you' at her and she whispered 'you owe me!' back before continuing to shove Ron up the stairs.

"Why did you tell him that?"

She grinned. "For kicks."

"You-" I was just about to kiss her when Remus appeared at the door. I swore quietly, which he picked up faintly, raising his eyebrows at us both.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" we said together. I shook my head vigorously.

Remus smiled slightly. "Sirius and Mary gone?"

* * *

Ginnys familiar flowery scent was marred with something all too daunting. I didn't know why it was following her, but it was there, and as she came closer all my instincts told me to run. She was sucking on her bottom lip, brow furrowed, heading toward the library. Seeing me outside, she smiled over at me brightly. "Hello." She put her hands on my shoulders, backing me up through the door, leading me backwards into the shrouds of bookcases.

"Hermione is making me do my homework... left it to the last minute again. But feel free to distract me; at least then I'll have an excuse." She kissed me once, softly, before smirking up at me daringly and twirling around to scan the books on the shelf behind her, running her fingertip across the spines.

That same smell wafted had strengthened when she kissed me and I was left momentarily distracted as she began to tap the books periodically as she looked, shooting dust up into the air. "I... yeah, not really. Sirius, Remus and Tonks know, and I made them swear not to tell anyone so... you can't use me as an excuse to Hermione."

She shrugged. "I'm not bothered. Just so long as I don't have to write an essay on the differences between cats and Kneazles..."

I grinned, eyes on her mouth as she began to suck on her bottom lip again. "Hey, Gin... you didn't cut yourself at some point did you?"

She laughed. "Yeah, kinda. I bit through my bottom lip earlier; mum was going on about that Greg bloke and... well I didn't - oh I dunno, must'a bit too hard. I don't like thinking about him. It just reminds me that..." She trailed off, sighing and running her teeth along her bottom lip rather hard, wincing as it knocked the wound.

Well, that made more sense. She hadn't noticed yet, so I didn't mention it. I leaned against the wall mounted bookcase and watched as she pulled out a couple of books on magical creatures and threw them on the sofa from where she stood. She turned and leant against the books parallel to me. "So, are you going to distract me, or am I actually going to have to write this?"

"...You probably should write it, Ginny, you have a week or so left before you go back."

She swayed slightly, looking everything like a child that knew they were doing something naughty. "Oh, hush. Sirius has had you off learning to apparate all week and I barely see you anyway because of the whole secret thing..." She sucked in her bottom lip again briefly, before pretty much jumping on me.

Catching her, and falling into the bookcase in the process, I made a soft grumble of a protest, pulling back and trying to keep her at arms length as the coppery taste of the blood in the cut on her lip literally bled into my mouth. She took one look at the pained expression on my face and seemed to realise, that naughty expression coming back over her face again as she gently pressed her index finger to the cut and frowned down at the fresh blood covering her fingertip. She snorted in an 'oops' gesture.

Rather than correcting herself, she ran that finger not at all timidly over my bottom lip, grinning to herself. I closed my eyes and tried not to breathe. She kissed me again, pulling back herself this time and placing herself within an inch of me. "You couldn't be normal if you tried, could you?" I said, opening my eyes slightly and looking down at her smirking face. "You should be afraid, Gin, not smearing your blood across my lips."

She shrugged. "I won't tell anyone if you don't." She raised an eyebrow at me questioningly, knowing I had both no power, and all the power in this particular situation.

Letting out the breath I'd been holding in hesitantly, unable to stop myself from bringing my lips back to hers. She pushed back, harder than I could handle. The thought that it must smart a bit only ever crossed my mind for a second before it shut down completely and I was spinning her around into the wall, switching places. She didn't protest, sliding one hand up between us to my chest, clenching her fingers around my shirt.

Grasping her hips tightly, it was in the moment that I nipped her bottom lip none-too-gently that she gave a soft gasp that brought me back to myself. I had to take a step back, thwarting her attempt to stop me from moving away and watching as she leant back against the bookcase heavily, breathing hard. She stepped forward, ignoring the fact that I flinched slightly, touching my cheek gently. "Sorry." She said quietly. "Didn't mean to push you. It's all about working up restraint, right?"

"Mmm..." I hummed lowly, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip carefully. It quivered, clearly sore, and swollen. I just about managed to gently kiss it apologetically. I could still taste her blood in my mouth, and it was making my throat burn. "You shouldn't... I mean, yes, you've proved before now that I can be far too cautious. But rightfully so. I'm not... you're not taking this seriously Ginny."

She smiled slightly. "Oh I am. I probably know more about this than you do, I grew up to stories of this kind of thing. I'm just not afraid of you." She shrugged one shoulder. "Genuinely. I know that you couldn't hurt me if you tried. And that's enough." The smile broke out into a mischievous grin, her eyes blazing. "Besides, you can be as dangerous as you like, everybody knows that vampires are the sexiest magical beings out there. And I have one as my boyfriend."

She patted my shoulder as I stood, dumbstruck at the revelation. "Go on, leave, get some fresh air, you look like you're going to explode."

"Thanks." I breathed, finally, turning and walking out before she could bestow anymore of her infinite wisdom of how non-dangerous and apparently sexy I was.

The second that I was out of the library and on my way downstairs I swiped the sleeve of my shirt across my mouth, wishing I'd just walked away when I had the choice. Being the tole of being stuck in here was beginning to show. Hermione had muttered something about being cadged in, and it was a natural reaction, to need to leave, but that didn't stop the want to get out. It was Friday, two days until I had to go to Hogwarts, worried sick that I was going to hurt someone, and I was stuck in a house full of overbearing Weasleys. Not to mention Ginny, who just didn't seem to care whether or not I hurt her or not, the evidence of that in what she'd just done.

Grabbing my jacket, I shoved on some old trainers and literally ran for the door. I managed to get down the stairs unnoticed, and had the front door open, about to leave quickly before some one realised I wasn't upstairs anymore, before Sirius' upper body slid into view as he leant out of the Kitchen door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"On a treasure hunt." I said sarcastically.

Sirius' eyes lit up in genuine excitement of the prospect of a treasure hunt. I raised my eyebrows at him questioningly and he seemed to quickly realise that I was being sarcastic. "Where are you actually going?"

"Where do you think? Out!"

"'Out' where?" he demanded, stepping fully out into the hall.

I blanched. "I- Well I don't know. Just… out. Somewhere, I need to breathe, Sirius." I pleaded with him silently.

He looked at the desperation on my face and sighed in defeat. "I'm not going to stop you. It's your choice." He said, resigned. "Just be careful, whatever you do."

I nodded once, mostly in thanks, and walked out into the bracing morning air, closing the door behind me. And then I walked, and kept walking, not the slightest idea of where I was going. I'd stop when I stop, I suppose. It was the open space and fresh air that I'd needed, after all.

I found a large park somewhere far off away from Grimmauld place, after at least an hour of walking. Mothers sat gossiping over coffees while their kids flew about the climbing frames. Throwing myself down on an empty bench, I let myself lapse into the horrible thought that I may actually hurt Ginny at some point, with the way she was going right now. Never mind Hogwarts. I don't want to be stuck at headquarters until Christmas, but I don't want to go to Hogwarts if I won't be able to stand it.

It was getting both better and worse. My restraint growing as the intensity of the want got larger, which made it slightly counterproductive. Maybe it'd be better if i did leave. At least then I wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone I cared about. And I could get my head sorted out. It was the better choice. It's not like I could want for money, once I've been to Gringotts to see the vaults I can access them from wherever I go.

But I didn't want to leave them behind. I couldn't. Ginny would never forgive me. Hermione would pretty much be the only person who'd understand why I did it, which should be enough but... I didn't want to risk losing them. Voldemort is still out there, and I need to be in England for that, as much as that should add to the 'run' argument.

A little red-headed girl tottered by, giggling, and I found myself watching as her mum tried to call her back, only to laugh when she realised that who was undoubtedly her dad had just appeared at the fence, and she was running to him. The woman, now standing nearby, over watching her daughters steps seemed to become all too interested in me for a short while, sky blue eyes twinkling mischievously for a moment in a way that reminded me very much so of Ginny. But she looked nothing like her, blonde, and tall, and of course lacking the brown eyes.

The little girl's father leaned over the fence and beckoned her to him, but she tripped on the little wooden stopper coming off the grass and grazed her knee on the pebbles. As the soft cry left her mouth I felt the odd compelling notion to run over and help her. I didn't, but somehow ended up on my feet anyway. The girls father, also a red-head, jumped over the fence in an instant and lifted her up off the ground. He cooed and lifted her up so her feet were on his chest and her knees were level with his face, where he kissed the torn, but barely bleeding skin of her left knee.

"Heeeeyy, shh, it's alright." She could only have been about 18 months old, her brilliant green eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

In the back of my mind, that struck me as odd, as her father's eyes were hazel, and her mother's blue. It didn't quite match. Rather than dwelling on it, I let my feet carry me past them and back out of the park. Fresh air was one thing, but being around that small family freaked me out. Shuddering for possibly the first time since I turned, I made my way back at the slowest possible pace.

* * *

Turns out Ginny was actually rather good at vanishing from the face of the earth with no trace of where she'd gone. Of course finding her was pretty easy, it may be a big house, but she left a flowery trail in her wake.

I found her eventually. Sneaking up behind her unannounced, I wrapped my arms around her waist, surprisingly enough, she didn't so much as flinch, rather leaning back and tilting her head so she could see me.

"Hey." she smiled up at me brightly.

Grinning back, I tightened my grip on her, swaying slightly and looking around the room she'd found herself in. "What are you doing in here?"

"Looking for Adam, the bastard was supposed to be here a half hour ago."

I laughed, kissing the exposed skin of her neck between where her hair had decided to fall and the neck of her t-shirt. "If only your mother could hear you swear, Ginny Weasley."

She nudged me in the side lightly. "Shut up." I kissed her again. "And stop doing that, I swear someone's coming down the hall..."

There was, I'd heard them coming up the stairs before, but I ignored her warning and kissed her again, this time right under her ear, causing her to giggle and shy away, just as Adam came flouncing in through the door.

"Orite?"

She dug her nails into my arm warningly from where it was still firmly attached to her waist. "Where the hell have you been?"

Adam shoved his hands in his pockets. "Me mam made 'es make bloody fairy cakes with her didn't she?"

She snorted, "Badass."

He smirked back. "I know, right? I'm so hardcore it hurts." he turned to me and nodded in acknowledgement. "O, mate, Sirius wants to see you out in the back garden." he pointed his thumb over his shoulder in vague direction despite the fact that we were in the North of the house, so I had my back to the garden.

Unhooking my arms from around Ginny's waist, I slid them around to her sides, squeezing her hips gently and leaning my head down toward her neck to mutter, "I'll see you later." before walking past Adam and out the door, clapping him on the shoulder in thanks.

Sirius was standing watching Zeus fly around the garden with a vague sense of amusement when I finally made it outside. "Adam said you were after me?"

He almost jumped. "Do you have to just appear like that?"

"Yes, it comes with the job." I replied sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes, whistling for the dog to come to him and taking him by the collar to keep him still. "I was thinking of having another go at this apparation stuff, if you're up to it."

I nodded slowly, jumping down off the back step, wandering further into the middle of the garden. "We can do."

He grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Right! Stand... there." He pointed to the fence on the far right of the garden. "Close your eyes, and concentrate. I want to try something different. It's... a slightly more dangerous approach, but you're so close! I know that this will work."

I shifted apprehensively. "Okay... What do you want me to do?"

He puffed out his cheeks, letting out a slow breath. Looking nervously to the kitchen door, he ran to close it and ran over to me. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Any particular reason why you're acting like this is illegal?"

He handed me a square object, wrapped in brown paper. It looked familiar but I couldn't quite place it. "You never opened it."

Oh... "Sorry. I didn't... it's not that I didn't appreciate – i just-" It was that present he gave me for Christmas that I couldn't bring myself to open.

He shook his head. "Don't be silly. I understand, just open it now."

I did as I was told, finding an old ornate mirror inside. "I don't understand."

Sirius pulled out a replica from his back pocket. "They came in a pair... Communication devices. Me and James charmed them when we were in school, so we could talk to each other when we were in separate detentions. That one was your fathers... I want you to have it... you ever want to talk to me while you're at Hogwarts, just say my name and I'll be there." He tapped a finger to the reflective surface.

I turned it over and found a small snitch scratched into the back with 'JP + LE' doodled in the middle. Finding a smile winding its way onto my face, I ran my finger over the decades old etchings with a heavy heart. He pocketed his mirror, drawing his wand.

"I want you to picture something, or rather, somewhere, that means something to you. Somewhere you're familiar with, somewhere you have strong memories of, somewhere you can easily picture yourself. Anywhere in the world. If I'm right, and it works, you can call me on that and I'll come and get you... you can try and get back yourself if you want, obviously. But one step at a time, right? Once you know what it feels like to carry yourself from one place to another, it should be easier."

I looked down at the mirror thoughtfully. "You're... sure about this?"

He shrugged. "You were out for three hours earlier and nothing happened." He looked up at the stars. "It's getting on a bit, but you should be alright. You got a place in mind?"

The first thing that popped into my head was the park in Little Whinging, the swings, a spot in which I used to find solace from Dudley and his gang.

"Oh, but make sure it's not up high, like a cliff edge or roof, in case you shoot it a little bit wide… and I'd stay away from trees, as well. James tried to apparate into a tree once, he got his antlers stuck between two of the branches." Sirius went quiet for a moment then snorted with amusement as he remembered the incident.

The image of that small park left my mind in an instant. "…Antlers? I didn't know you could apparate while you were in your animagus form."

"Oh, you can't, he wasn't in his animagus form."

"…Then why did he have antlers?"

"It's a long story."

"Why was he trying to apparate into a tree anyway?"

"…For surveillance purposes, obviously." He scoffed.

I frowned at him dubiously. "So this was while you were in the Order…"

"No, we were in school." He insisted.

"But then why did he need to apparate into a tree to survey… things… with antlers?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. He was late for a date with Lily and Snivil-" He cleared his throat. "Snape," He corrected. "Was being an arse."

I gave him a severely confused look. He grinned widely, reminding me oddly of a Cheshire cat. "Forget it, we have things to do, now hurry up and picture that place."

I closed my eyes and let every single blade of grass bathed in moonlight, the once scary shadows casted by bordering trees, and the stars visible from that one point fall into place. "Are you sure about this?" I could feel nerves starting to take over.

"Yes." I felt his hands fall to my shoulders, and I knew he was looking right at me. "Come on... you can do this, I know you can."

He stepped back, and with those words of confidence ringing in my ears, I turned.

My eyes shot open in surprise when I felt myself lurch through a crack in space and time, rushing through a small tube to that familiar old park in Surrey. A loud crack shot through my eardrums and I was standing by the swings under the half shade of trees, and the light of the crescent moon hanging in the early night sky.

Did that actually just happen?

Stunned at actually having managed to throw myself across London in half a second, I didn't notice the scuffle going on behind me.

"Dudley – fuck. Off. You have nothing to do with this!" A woman was shouting. "You're just another one of his poncey, bullying mates."

"Oh come on, sweetheart-"

"DON'T, call me sweetheart! Get away from me. Go home, go get pissed, make fools of yourselves. I don't care what you do; just leave me alone; I've had enough of your stupid little games. Your all a bunch of bullying little boys, who think that by terrorising people half your size, you'll make yourself look hard, but you're not, and everybody hates you. Harsh, I know, but if you weren't such twats, people might actually want to be around you."

I turned just in time for the girl to turn and come storming toward me, her blonde hair whipping around her face. Dudley and a couple of his mates were standing dumbstruck behind her. One of them ran up behind her and spoke up. "Oi, Lucy... I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have..." but his words were ever so slightly slurred, barely so, but she picked up on it.

"Leave me alone." She said slowly, face turning red with anger. "I've had enough of you, Malcolm, alright? I'm sick of pretending like you don't act like an arsehole when you're not around me."

I couldn't help but think I was witnessing a break up. She was coming closer, and that coppery smell was filling my senses again. She had one hand to her collarbone, blood seeping through her fingers.

Dudley, probably the most sober one out of them, walked over to her, looking slightly concerned. "Hey, let me have a look, Luce, it's bleeding pretty badly."

She held up her free hand. "No, you've done enough; I'm going to the emergency room."

"Well... let me take you, I can –"

"I wouldn't get on the back of your scooter, even if you were completely sober."

Dudley looked behind her, to me and did a double take. "Harry? What the hell are you doing here! That old bloke said you weren't coming back this summer..."

"That 'old bloke' is the most powerful... you know what, never mind, it doesn't matter. What the hell did you do to her?" I pointed at the blonde, Lucy.

She turned to me and I recognised her immediately. THAT Lucy... She'd been in the same year as me in primary school. She'd been quiet, and reserved, under the radar. I'd never pegged her for one of those girls who always dates the biggest idiot in the class. I remember her being rather nice, having switched to that school when she was 7, and hadn't ever really bothered with Dudleys 'rules'. She was quiet enough for him to deem her as safe to ignore, making it easier for him, because even he knew not to hit a girl.

Still, I had to wonder what they'd done that lead to her having sliced her shoulder open.

Dudley shook his head. "We didn't do anything, she fell."

"Oh she 'fell', did she?"

"I genuinely did..." She said, laughing light-heartedly. "But it was still your fault." She pointed at them. "Go home."

"I'm not leaving you out on your own, in the dark, bleeding." Said Malcolm, pulling Dudley out of the way.

"Yes you are. Bugger off. And besides, I'm hardly on my own, Harry is right there." She pointed at me and I immediately regretted not having disappeared right off. "I haven't seen him in six years, and I trust being around him more than you lot right now."

She really shouldn't. I was about to point that fact out when Malcolm shook his head. "Fine, hang around with a criminal. I'll leave you to it."

With a wave of his hand, looking severely annoyed, he stormed off back in the opposite direction, his friends soon following. Dudley hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something.

"Orite, Dud?"

He nodded. "S-so what are you doing here?"

"It's a... my world thing. Complicated. I'm not staying, I was actually about to leave, I should ring Sirius-"

"That convict?!" he looked scared all of a sudden and Lucy actually turned away to laugh quietly at the expression on his face.

"'That convict' is my godfather, and he was proven innocent last month."

Dudley grumbled something under his breath, and turned to Lucy. "Are you sure you don't want a lift into town?"

"Yes." She said calmly. "I'm going to go home, tell my mum I got knocked into a barbed wire fence, and she can drive me to accident and emergency to get it stitched up. She won't bat an eyelid. I seem to have been getting myself into more and more trouble since I started hanging around you lot."

"Right... Harry's... he's not a criminal, he'll look after you." He nodded at me, and I felt a vague sort of pride for him having said something nice about me in public.

He turned and ran off after his mates. She rolled her eyes. "Well then... Long time no see, how've you been, Harry?" She wandered over to me and that smell strengthened, my restraint waning as I saw the front of her pink tanktop drenched red with blood from the wound.

"I-I've been fine, Lucy..."

She nodded slowly, tilting her head. "Yeah... where'd you go? I mean, it's not like you ever could have actually been to that school for... incurably whatever's, right? You're too nice! There's no way you could ever get sent there..."

"I'm... well no, I wasn't. I'm just... different. And the Dursleys don't like different. No one does around here." I looked down the street, where all the houses are exactly the same, and everybody kept to themselves.

She grinned, and made a great show of tip-toeing over and leaning in close as if to tell me a secret. "I know who you are, Harry Potter." She whispered.

I frowned. "Who I am I then?"

"The Harry Potter. A wizard." Well I hadn't anticipated _that_. She held out her free hand to me. "I'm Lucy Abbot."

My eyes widened. "As in Hannah Abbots... you're related to Hannah?" I shook her hand apprehensively so she would drop it, and hopefully back up a bit.

"She's my half-sister. Same dad, you know. My dad was a bit of a..." She cleared her throat. "Well, he's with her mum now. I go to stay with him on weekends. Hannah speaks highly of you... you taught her and some other people how to fight last year, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but –"

She was grinning again. "She also talks about a boy called Neville... Longbottom, frequently. Do you know him?"

I had to smile at that. "Yes, I know him. He's a friend."

She nodded, wincing slightly and moving her hand gingerly away from the cut on her neck. She was getting rather pale. "Does it look bad?" she asked.

I daren't look. She was laughing again. "Oh come on, you can't seriously be squeamish!"

The reluctance to get to personal with it must have shown on my face. "No, I've just not been so good with blood lately."

She looked confused, but didn't say anything of it. "Would you mind... I mean, can you, you know...?" She left the question open, unsure of what to say.

I shook my head violently. "I can't do magic around here, it's a muggle area. If I was at school, or at somewhere full of magical people it would be under the radar, they cant tell whether it was someone under age or not who did the magic... I'm sorry."

She smiled grimly, obviously in pain. "Don't worry about it. I just wondered... that way I wouldn't have to go to my mum about it. She's been giving me a lot of crap about hanging around with this lot lately."

"I'm not surprised."

Nodding, she attempted to clear off some of the blood on her neck with her sleeve. "Surely you can – does it look deep? I don't mind walking into town to go myself if it is. I'd just rather know, 'cause if it's really bad my mum won't let me near them again..."

She grabbed my arm with the blood covered hand, which didn't help, and dragged me into the moonlight so I could see properly. Swallowing hard, I tried to back up a bit, but my legs wouldn't work. I could feel it happening again like it had with Ginny the day before. My mind closing down and zeroing in on the blood, hidden primal instincts taking over and leaving me powerless against it.

It wasn't me anymore, I knew it wasn't. But there wasn't anything I could do about it. She withdrew her hand from my shoulder apologetically. "Sorry, forgot about the... yeah." She tilted her head to the side, attempting to look at it herself out of the corner of her eye. "I know there's a lot of blood, but is it starting to stop bleeding? If it is I can just go wash off at home and cover it up or something, it might not need stitches..."

My restraint over the situation was almost completely shattered. There was so much more blood than last time, completely covering her neck, down over her shirt, and over her arm where she'd been trying to stem the bleeding. It was strong, and abrasive, all I could smell, the taste already stuck in the back of my throat. Something was screaming at me to leave, but I couldn't, instead my hand was falling onto her shoulder, and my thumb was outlining the shape of the cut running the length of her collarbone.

She looked up at me and frowned. "Harry, are you okay? You look-"

I was completely powerless to what happened next. Her last words ringing in my ears as my teeth sank into her neck.

_

* * *

_

A/N: Uhm... No comment? –runs away-

Blood and Chocolate


	15. Reprieve

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_Quote: '_I'm not always like this. It's something, I become... A terrible weakness, In my nature, in my blood. Save me, oh save me, save me from myself...

Before I hurt somebody else again....'

_**Glittering Cloud by Imogen Heap.**_

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_Chapter Fifteen: Reprieve_

_*Harry's POV*_

_

* * *

_

Previously: My restraint over the situation was almost completely shattered. There was so much more blood than last time, completely covering her neck, down over her shirt and over her arm where she'd been trying to stem the bleeding. It was strong, and abrasive, all I could smell, the taste already stuck in the back of my throat. Something was screaming at me to leave, but I couldn't, instead my hand was falling onto her shoulder, and my thumb was outlining the shape of the cut running the length of her collarbone.

_She looked up at me and frowned. "Harry, are you okay? You look-"_

_I was completely powerless to what happened next. Her last words ringing in my ears as my teeth sank into her neck._

* * *

I yanked my headphones from my ears, and in one graceful flick of my entire arm I threw the muggle device at the wall with all the strength I could muster. It hit the wall with a loud crack, the screen splintering and splitting away from the metal behind it. It dropped down onto the telly, which wobbled but didn't fall. I helped it with that. The games and DVDs falling across the room as everything was swept from the desk.

My hands went to my hair and I clenched my teeth, turning to the door and wanting to run but my feet wouldn't let me. Glued to the spot I let out a loud cry. All the anguish, anger, and pain falling from my lips in one low primal roar as I fell to my knees and clutched at my hair.

And then a small sob left me as the anger diminished and all I was left with was the sheer deity of what I'd done, the remorse, regret, self-loathing...I'd never once wished to be someone else more in my life, having taken the life of an innocent young girl from my past who had actually cared about what had happened to me post-Dursley's.

What had I done?

* * *

_She slipped through my fingers, unfeeling, lost to the world, and I staggered. How could this have happened?_

_I couldn't look, how could I? She was covered in her own blood, it had seeped into her flawless blonde hair and dyed it a horrible matted dark rosé, dried onto her white cadaverous skin and her eyes shone on in a glassy lifeless long-lost shade of blue. The prospect of what I'd just done hit me hard._

_I felt so much better, so much more focused, and alive than before, but it came with a heavy price, the evidence of this lying at my feet. Unsure of what I was supposed to do, and completely unable to form a coherent thought, I turned, and ran. _

_And I kept running. I didn't stop, even as my head started to hurt, and the sun started to rise. I just kept going, faster and faster, and faster still until I'd left Surrey far behind me. With poor Lucy Abbott lying in that park, on her own in death, and me, running free, undeserving of this cursed, undead life that I supposedly had to live with for eternity. _

* * *

It was Ginny, who found me hours later... unfortunately.

I was sat in the middle of a mess of broken glass, plastic and cases at the end of my bed, legs crossed and my eyes fixed on the floor I was sat on in such a prone position. I'm pretty sure there's still blood visible on my neck, definitely on my clothes. Her eyes widened as she saw the state I was in and the wreckage in my wake.

''Harry! What did you do?''

Wincing, I refused to look at her. It sounded like an accusation to my ears, though I knew she hadn't meant it to be.

She crouched down before me and bowed her head, trying to catch my eye.

''Harry...? Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?''

She tried to touch my shoulder consolingly, to get me to say something, answer her, and respond in some way. I flinched back and she gave me a hurt look, leaning back, but staying at my level.

She tried again, to turn my head to the side, but her fingers had barely put pressure on my cheek before I jumped to my feet and turned away from her.

''Don't touch me, Gin, please, just don't.'' I pleaded with her.

She ignored my request and stood up again, following behind me. ''Oh, Harry please, talk to me, what happened to you?''

I didn't answer and she tried that final time to get me to look at her, her right hand gently touching my back. I shook my head. ''Please, just leave me alone, Ginny.'' I strode across the room and locked myself in the bathroom, leaning against the door, forehead against the cold wooden barricade between me and my girlfriend.

I closed my eyes.

* * *

_I couldn't have slowed down, even if I'd tried. I needed to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. To where – I had no idea. Away from her, from what I'd done, the damage it would cause when I recognised the sheer mass of the situation. _

_It was early, anyone who was up and about didn't see me for long enough to catch my appearance, how distorted it was with blood, and fear. She was dead. I had killed her. It was my fault. And what good would it ever have done? The power rushing through my veins in this moment meant nothing, because to achieve it, she had had to die, and that was too high a price to pay. _

_What was I going to do? _

_What would Sirius say when he found out? _

_His worse fears recognised. He implied that he wouldn't think any different of me should I take this path, but I didn't want it. I felt robbed of the choice, as if it had been made for me. Something dark, deep inside me had forced me to take her life, and now I was a murderer, and Sirius would be disappointed in me, even if he didn't show it. _

_Ginny was never going to look at me in the same way again._

_

* * *

_

There was an angry thump on the door as she either kicked or punched it. ''Harry!'' she'd given up with the gentle approach, her temper rising. ''Something's happened and I want to know what! You look like hell; you're covered in blood for Merlin's sake – let. Me. IN!'' she thumped the door again angrily.

I propelled myself back from the door and turned to the mirror above the sink, taking in my reflection. My once white t-shirt was stained red from the right side of my neck downwards, bleeding outwards to a paler shade toward the middle. There was dried blood coating the entire right side of my neck, and along my jaw.

I was shaking quite profusely as I walked over to the mirror and turned on the tap, splashing water on my face, running my hands along my neck in an attempt to get rid of the dried blood. It only succeeded in making it worse, now on my hands, spreading it further across my skin and over my face, around my lips where my hands had gone.

The memory of Lucy came back, her distressed scream, the expression on her face as she slipped out of my grip....

The anger I'd felt previously at myself, what I'd been deduced to, flared up again just as Ginny made another loud yell for me to come out and I punched the mirror in the heat of it, glass splintering across the room, tiny glittering fragments shining with my blood littering the floor. Some of it was imbedded in my knuckles, I noticed, looking down at my hand as I uncoiled my hand from a fist, no longer glaring at my splintered reflection.

Picking out the bigger pieces, I ignored Ginny's pleas, asking me if I was okay, having heard the smash, she sounded scared. I felt a small stab of guilt trying to overpower the other emotions swirling around in my head but squashed it, pulling my shirt over my head.

Ginny went quiet for a moment as I finished undressing and turned the shower on, desperate to be rid of the blood that wasn't mine, the power that shouldn't be mine, and the pain, and guilt that certainly was.

* * *

_I slowed as I started to recognise my surroundings once more, the streets becoming familiar, and the roads becoming easier to follow. My feet took me to the front door of number 12 Grimmauld Place._

_It was dawn, and the sun shone red over the rooftops. _

_I couldn't go inside. Surely not. How could I? After that. After killing an innocent girl for my own devices. I could never face them, look those I loved in the eye and tell them that everything was okay, that I'm still 'just Harry' when I was evidently a cold-hearted killer. _

_And yet I was walking up the steps, and opening the door. Panicked voices in the kitchen over powered the sound of the entering creeks of the door. They were worried. I didn't call Sirius to say I was safe, to tell him where I was. And then I'd ran all the way home, for at least eight hours straight, and I'd been missing for longer, so much longer. They'd wish I'd never come back at all when they found out what I'd done. _

_

* * *

_

I leant back against the shower wall after a moment and calmly picked out the little pieces of glass still stuck in my hand as Ginny began to speak once more.

''Please...'' her voice broke, and I heard her slide down the door.

''You're scaring me, Harry, just talk to me... You don't have to... To come out, just talk to me!''

I closed my eyes and dropped my head back onto the wall, letting the water fall down on me as I did, washing the blood still pouring from my hand down the drain.

"You've been gone all night, nobody knows you're back, they're so worried..." She began. "I won't tell them." Her whispered words carried through the thick wooden door to me and I wished she wasn't being so kind. "Not until you want me to. I understand... something awful's happened and you don't want to have to talk to anyone about it because you think they'll hate you... I won't. Whatever it is... whoever it is. If you've hurt someone, or they hurt you. I don't care. Just so long as you're safe. You. Not anybody else."

Her voice was shaking. I didn't want to listen anymore. It made me want to talk to her, to tell her. But I didn't want to scare her away. Not ever.

"You stuck by me, and looked after me after what happened with Gregory at the wedding. You helped me understand that it wasn't my fault, and everybody else knows this. I want to help you. Because... it wasn't you. There's a whole other side of you that exists in this terrifying curse you were born with. There's you – just Harry, this sweet, kind, awkward, brave and courageous young man, there's The Boy-who-lived, that the media created, some hero that is going to save us all from you-know-who... and then there's this new you, that you're fighting to control, that needs to be satiated. It thirsts for blood for power, to keep it strong enough to fight, to live, and survive, to carry on... and you ignore the papers, and wish that someday people will see you as 'just Harry', and try to suppress this darkness in your heart..."

She paused, going quiet for a long while.

"But it's a part of you. Just like The boy-who-lived. And even he shows his face every now and again, to save people from you –know-who. This new side of you is going to break out sometimes Harry, but that's okay, because the people that matter, the people that love you, will be there to pick up the pieces afterwards, and to care for you, and to keep on loving you in spite of everything because they want you to be happy, and they hope that someday people will see you the way they do, rather than an object formed by the Daily Prophet."

I felt like crying, but I really don't think I can anymore. I hadn't really thought about it.

"You don't have to come out. And you don't have to tell me anything. But I'm going to be right here when you're ready to, and I'll take anything that you're willing to give."

She went silent once more, and all I could hear was her erratic breathing as she cried softly to herself on the other side of the door, very much so aware of what I must have done.

* * *

_Walking in silence up the stairs to my room I fell to the end of my bed, grabbed my headphones and tried to drown out the nonsensical noise in my mind with music. It usually worked, but the first song that came on was too quiet, too soft, not at all abrasive, or as loud as I needed._

_I flicked through random songs until I found one that seemed loud enough, something with sharp edges ready to cut through my eardrums. _

_**I can't escape this hell; so many times I've tried. But I'm still caged inside. Somebody get me through this nightmare, I can't control myself... So what if you can see the darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become! Help me believe it's not the real me, somebody help me tame this animal...**_

_I almost laughed at the incredulidity of it all. I physically couldn't right now, but I wanted to, despite the grief ripping through me. I turned it up. A momentary reprieve from the pain and the horror of what was happening to me, what I'd become, the realisation that this is who I am. _

_**I can't escape myself.**_

* * *

I was stuck in there for a few hours after that... Obviously it didn't seem that long to me, but when I finally plucked up the courage to open the door, Ginny was curled up against the wall by the doorframe, asleep.

I was surprised that she hadn't pulled the door down or had gone to get someone at some point. She'd stuck firm to her word.

Grabbing some fresh clothes, I sneaked back into the bathroom to get dressed in something that wasn't a severely damp towel. On my way back in I managed to lift her up without waking her or upsetting my slowly bruising hand and place her on my bed. She curled up in a ball in the middle, hugging a pillow to her. Looking at the clock on the side I found that it was 9am, but in doing so I saw the mess that I'd made earlier and suddenly felt ashamed. Flicking my wand, I cast quick reparo spells on anything that was broken, but lifted everything back into place manually, despite my hand.

I'd have to apologise to Ginny when she woke... It wasn't her fault... It was mine though. I snuck outside and downstairs to try and find something to cool down my knuckles, where the skin was slowly going from flaming red to purple.

Only Sirius was in the kitchen, as if waiting for me to show up, a bottle of beer in one hand. He looked up solemnly. ''You want to tell me what happened?''

I shook my head ''No.'' I murmured, my voice cracking with the lack of use. He motioned for me to sit down and I did as I was told, watching as Sirius put down his beer with a dark expression on his face, standing to go and get a first aid kit.

He made a 'come hither' motion with his hand to get me to give him mine so he could bandage it up. Not once did he say anything to me as he cleaned and dressed the multiple wounds on the back of my hand. I couldn't help but wonder if he knew what I'd done...

I hoped he didn't, I don't think I could deal with the look of badly shielded disappointment on his face. I think that deep down he knew that I had hurt someone, even if I didn't admit it to myself. He looked so sympathetic...

He was picking out the odd stray bits of glass from my knuckles; it tickled, but didn't hurt, which was a massive disappointment to me. "You shouldn't be bleeding." He said quietly.

"Maybe before, when you were weaker than you should be, lacking the energy... but now – you've refuelled. You should be completely bullet-proof, so to speak." He started to bandage up my hand. "You can tell me, you know. I was anticipating a slip up at some point. It was bound to happen once, maybe even more than that... I just hoped it would have been after you had come to terms with that fact. I'm not ashamed of you Harry, it's a natural instinct. Like Moony hunting deer on the full moon."

The question of whether or not I could cry was answered swiftly after he spoke, and it burned. Fire, ripping through all of my senses. Scorching hot trails scolding my cheeks. Silent, but nevertheless there, one more way that the guilt swirling around in my mind found its way to release some tension.

Sirius stayed quiet, waiting for me to speak.

"I knew her, Sirius. I knew her, she trusted me, and I – I..."

He sighed, running his fingers through my hair and pushing my head down to rest on his shoulder, bidding me to let go.

And I did.

* * *

_A/N: I felt bad about the cliffie =P I also felt bad that my stupid internet troubles caused the last chapter to be late, so this is your present!_

_Next Chapter's back to Ginny, and you get your first glimpse of Hogwarts =D It may only be as short as this one though, but it'll be posted within the next couple of days – if you're nice enough to review this chapter and the last despite the closeness of the updates =D_

_Also – I'd really like to hear what you guys are thinking is going to happen with these weird twisty bombshells. I mean... hang on, I'll write a list of things you lot don't know yet, and I'd love to hear what your ideas are:_

**Why did Harry's magic mark Ginny?**

**What's Dumbledore hiding?**

**What happened when Ginny accidentally burned Greg?**

**Why does Voldemort want Ginny?**

**Why is Saiph so reluctant to hurt her?**

_Am I missing any? I think I may be. If I am, let me know, and I'll add them at the end of the next chapter, which will be posted in the next few days, I'm actually writing it now._

_Jessica_


	16. Letters

_Quote: 'One day a man shall walk on the moon. His name… Army Neilstrong.'_

_American Dad_

NOTE: Starts off in Harry's POV, but changes to Ginny's half way through – it was kinda needed for the chronological timelines sake.

**

* * *

**

Blood and Chocolate

_Chapter Sixteen: Letters_

_**

* * *

**_

Harry's POV

Hermione wouldn't look at me. She skipped over her usual hug goodbye, looking at the ground. "We'll see you soon, Harry..."

I nodded back, the thoughts going through my head clearly having shown on my face as she winced. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise. I wouldn't want to look at me either."

Her eyes flicked up to my face briefly and she made a small jerk, as if to move towards me, but thought better of it at the last moment, grabbing her trunk and walking out of the front door. Ron didn't even acknowledge that I was there, immediately going after Hermione. The twins saluted me in synchronisation almost sympathetically, being part of the team escorting the others to the train station.

I'd heard Ginny making her purposefully slow decent to the bottom of the stairs before, finally arriving behind me and hugging me not so subtly from behind with one arm. The height advantage given by being a couple of steps up allowing her to lean forward and whisper. "I'll see you soon, even if it means sneaking out of the school." She gave me a mischievous smirk over her shoulder, running along after her brothers.

I sighed and fell down onto the bottom step. Everything was such a mess.

Sirius' shadow fell across me as he stood out in front of me, arms folded. "They'll come around."

I shook my head. "No. They may be my friends, but I killed someone. It may have been a part of my instincts. But I still killed someone. And if I'm honest, had they done the same, I wouldn't be able to forgive them."

Sirius crouched down to my level in front of the stair. "Ron... may take a bit of convincing. He's as stubborn as his mum, and... she had a lot to say on the matter, believe me." I winced. "Hermione, however, is a compassionate, understanding young witch. She's read books by the dozen on this kind of thing. She knows and fully understands that it's a part of you, and you can't deny your heritage, or instincts. She knows that you're still you, because you're still human enough to feel the remorse of what you've done. And _that_ is why she'll forgive you. It may take time, but she loves you, Harry, you know that, she's not going to give up on you just yet." He smiled over at me.

"I wish you wouldn't be so nice." I said lowly. "I don't understand how you can't hate me for this, or at least be angry in some way. You're too... understanding."

His face went hard. "I am angry. And disappointed, and upset that you'd let this happen, that you didn't do as I said and call me immediately. I'm angry that you killed her." My face just went completely, in noticing, his face softened. "But you're my Harry, James' Harry. James and Lily would forgive you without hesitation, because they're your parents, and that's what parents do. They forgive your sins and love you no matter what. You're like the son I'll likely never have, Harry, and I promised James and Lily that I'd look after you. So for that reason, I understand, and I can't physically hate you."

"I still wish you wouldn't be so nice, I'd much prefer it if you shouted at me or something, it'd make me feel better." He stood, one hand on my shoulder as he leaned forward to whisper 'Exactly' in my ear before walking off towards the door.

If my heart could have stopped beating all over again it would have done.

He looked over his shoulder at me to say, briefly. "I got your letter from Gringotts today. They want to see you at 12 noon, so you need to get dressed and ready to go before then."

I looked down at my baggy sweat pants and t-shirt and nodded once. I suppose I'd have to put on some robes or something... standing to leave, I was interrupted once again. "But be quick, because Mary and Tonks are coming too, they insist upon getting you some new clothes, and I'll admit, you need them, so don't complain. We'll get you something to wear to the meeting before we go, and then finish up afterwards. You've got a busy day ahead Harry, Dumbledore's coming to see you later, and then we have to take a trip out into the city."

I groaned softly at the prospect of both seeing Dumbledore and being dragged around London by two giggling girls, forced to try on god-knows-what, but didn't complain. Dressed and ready to go 10 minutes later, I found Sirius and the girls sat in the kitchen waiting for me. Tonks grinned at me brightly. "Hello! I haven't seen you in a while." She stood up and gave a bone crushing hug, possibly the first I'd ever received from her.

Pushing the confusion away, I gave Sirius a worried look over my shoulder. "Er...hi, Tonks."

She smiled again. "You ready for some shopping, Harry-kins?"

I pulled a face. "Do we really ha-"

"Yes!" said Sirius adamantly before she could reply, standing up to grab his coat. "Put this on." He handed me a silver biker's chain.

"...Why?" I asked, distractedly as Tonks began to talk again.

"Don't worry about it, Harry! We'll take you to one or two shops and figure out what sort of sizes you need and then you can go off with Sirius and we'll do the shopping for you. It'll be fine."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Just put it on. It has a mild perception charm built into it, that'll shift people's perception of you as they see you, so they know your there, but they don't quite register you. If you tap it with your wand, the spell that Fred and George procured. It changes your appearance, makes you look like the opposing gene pool. They were originally sweets, for a laugh 'gene gems', they'd only last a minute or so, but we helped transfer that into a spell that lasts longer. All you have to do is tap it, and no one will recognise you."

I put it on, looking down at it curiously. Sirius was wearing an identical one, whereas Mary was wearing a simple looking necklace. Sirius nodded his head at me and tapped his with his wand. He immediately began to morph in front of my eyes. His black hair shortened considerably, and his eyes went such a dark brown they were almost black, his cheekbones dropping down and his nose lengthening. He lost a couple of inches in height and his fingers noticeably thinned. He looked pretty much nothing like his mother anymore, I only had to assume that he now looked more like his dad.

Tonks changed her appearance normally, while Mary also tapped her necklace with her wand. Her hair went a dirty blonde, and straightened, eyes melding into a soft green and freckles slowly dotting across her slowly paling cheeks. Her hourglass figure became more athletic, and she became slightly taller. She took off her glasses and flattened her hands down over her chest in disgust. "Ugh, I have no boobs!"

Sirius sniggered to her right as she began to artfully remove her bra through the arms of her tank top. Almost apprehensively, I tapped mine with my wand. Unable to see myself as I was, I looked down at my hands. I looked exactly the same. Frowning, I found Sirius looking at me with raised eyebrows. Mary pursed her lips with a broad smile working its way onto her face. "What?"

"You'll only see the difference in the mirror." Said Sirius, taking me by the shoulders to turn me around and lead me toward the mirror out in the hall.

Immediately, I could see why they were so surprised. I looked completely different. My hair was slightly wavy, bright red, no longer sticking up in all directions, and my eyes were rounder, and hazel. My, once angular jaw was slightly more curved. I couldn't help but notice that I wasn't as tall either.

"You look like your mother." Said Sirius, just managing to keep a straight face. "But you have your fathers' eyes."

I rolled my eyes. "Surely this is going to be a problem when we're out shopping, if I look different."

Sirius shoved my shoulder. "Just tap it again before you try something on so we know it looks alright."

Sighing with what had to be resignation, I walked out of the front door without waiting for any of them to follow. "This had better be quick."

It definitely wasn't. I mean, it felt like it had lasted for friggin' hours while I was waiting for them to find the right things for me to try on – because clearly the style and colour mattered when they were trying to find out what muggle size I was. I was dragged around for a good hour and a half while they giggled like school girls, Sirius already having buggered off to go and look around the Quidditch shops, the bastard. I had pointed out numerous times that if we'd gone to Madame Malkins first to measure up for dress robes, she could have given them the measurements and they could have gone on that.

But no, colours did matter, and apparently the depth of my collar and the length of the sleeves, the shape of my jeans and the style of my trainers mattered so much more than my sanity. After what could have been the 500th shop (were I not exaggerating horribly), I gave up with the situation, told them to buy whatever the hell they liked and wandered off after Sirius, who quickly dragged me to Gringots to enter the next circle of hell while the girls knocked themselves out in Muggle London.

I let ignored the fuss given by the overeager, but equally stoney faced goblins and let them lead me and Sirius into an office of some sort, where I barely listened to the details of my newly acquired 'estate'. Apparently I know owned an awful lot of houses, an island or two, more money than I'd ever need in many lifetimes (which, now I think about it, I may need after all), and a number of old ancient wizarding artefacts. Amongst other things. I did as I was told, signed the papers (in blood), and politely declined the offer to see the family vault.

Of course I was thwarted by Sirius, who overruled me and made me go down and see it. To be honest I was kinda glad he did – as it turns out, dragons really did guard the eldest pureblood families vaults. It was right on the lowest circle of vaults, where the first ones ever made existed, that I'd had to duck a stray stream of fire being thrown by a passing Horntail. More than happy to get out of the cart and stretch my legs, I looked up at the magnificently old entrance to my family's vault. It wasn't even a proper door, just a rock face that had a slim line down the middle, and what appeared to be ancient runes carved onto the front. The Goblin opened it as expected though, sliding a finger down the small gap and waiting for the click that signified that it was safe to enter.

It was as expected – large, cavernous, and full of gold. But the magnitude of it still set me back a few steps. "Bloody hell, Sirius, you could have said…"

He gave me a funny look. "I didn't need to, the Goblin did – were you even listening in that meeting-!" He started angrily, only to be cut off when he saw the expression on my face. "What?"

Running over to the far side of the vault, I stopped in front of a rather tall photo. It was huge – twice the size of Sirius, and at least 6 foot wide. A mass of red hair could be seen at the far side near the top, incurably pale skin, and every time the object behind the vale covering the canvas moved, a shimmer of emerald green could be found. Sirius went rather pale when he saw what I was looking at. Finding that enough of an indication that it was something I should see, I grabbed the corner of the vale.

"No!" He said softly. "Please don't…" he shook his head desperately.

Taking one brief look at the terrified expression on my godfathers face over my shoulder, I gave it a gentle tug, watching as it fluttered to the floor, heaving up a large amount of dust in its wake. I gasped in shock. I mean, it was what I thought it was, a portrait, but I hadn't expected…

The woman in the photo shook her head, running her fingers through her curly hair in attempt to free the dust that had acuminated on the front of the canvas. It was a magically animated, large scale oil painting of Lily Potter. She wore what was possibly the most Elizabethan dress I'd ever seen, in red, gold, and black, and a slide in her hair keeping it out of those green eyes that were so identical to mine. She smiled at me good naturedly, recognising me. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

I frowned at Sirius, who looked like he'd seen a ghost (as he no doubt has). "Why wouldn't you want me to see this?"

He hesitated. "Because… well… she doesn't talk, like the others."

I scowled at him, annoyed that he wasn't explaining himself. "What?"

"She doesn't-" He sighed, sitting down on an incredibly old settee pushed up against the wall and equally covered in a sheet. "When the current heads of house in a pure-blooded family's home die, the new heads of house have their portraits painted by the family photographer. They're then placed upon the wall, unanimated until they too, die. There is a spell on the paint used – it is charmed to animate when the impression dies, it takes on their form completely and imitates life, grasping onto the firmest thoughts that person ever had and making them real. That's why my mother only ever screams about impurities in her house. Your mother and father had they're portraits painted the week after his parents died. They became heads of the house – your father a Lord, for Merlin's sake, he was pretty much legally obliged to do it."

He ran his fingers through his hair in despair, trying woefully to explain properly. "That's why she's dressed like that – the aristocracy of the line would not have it – her portrait on the walls of the Potter Manor-"

"Potter-" He glared at me, apparently still angry at me for not listening to the Goblin earlier. "Never mind, carry on."

"Basically, the walls at Potter Manor are filled with portraits of the entire line, fully animated at their death, all dressed in immaculate, sophisticated wear, a perfect symbol of what the Potters should be – she's even wearing the family's colours. It wouldn't be done for her to be dressed in a mild muggle dress or anything otherwise. But when she died… when they died – that's the first thing I did, after I went to see if you were still alive – I went to go and talk to the paintings, but they couldn't talk."

"Couldn't talk, as in, she should be like the portraits of the previous Headmasters at School?"

Sirius nodded.

I turned to look at her with a frown, and she frowned back, crouching down in her frame so she was about level with me. She was still crying, silently. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Why is she here?"

Sirius stood and walked look around the vault for something. Unable to take my eyes off of my mother, I sat down on what appeared to be a cross between a treasure chest and a trunk, taking her in. There was a loud shout as he found what he was looking for. "There! See! He's here to!"

On my feet in an instant, I ran to find him in the maze of piled coins and random furniture. The portrait of James Potter was stood hidden in amongst numerous random files of parchment and books. He was completely still. I was really starting to see why people always likened him to me; it was almost like looking in the mirror.

Sirius, looking rather pale, raised his eyebrows at the immobile oil painting, waiting for something. "For the record, he never looked this dignified." He pointed at the expression on my father's face and what he was wearing. The portrait finally moved, only to scowl at Sirius and flip him off. Sirius grinned, some of the colour returning to his cheeks. "That's the James I know."

He looked at me over his shoulder and motioned for me to stay put. "Lily's on the other side of the room." He said, watching as James' face lit up. He grabbed me by the shoulders and led me back to where my mother's portrait was, sitting me down where I had settled myself before.

He pointed to the picture with a small smile, indicating for me to watch as my dad came barrelling into the photo to hug his wife half to death. "Why are they here then?" I repeated, rephrasing slightly.

Sirius shook his head. "No idea." He said. "I can't even think why anyone would move them in the first place. Last I saw they were still at the manor. Muted, but still there."

James pointed to a far off point on the other side of the vault, nodding to it – the only indication he could give. Sirius and I shared a look of equal trepidation as we followed the line he'd created toward the object in question. It was a large black trunk with a large crest I'd never seen before sat above the opened lock. Sirius walked over and flipped it open, finding the keys to the trunk in there and a leather bound book. Opening it curiously he turned a couple of pages and scoffed, flicking through the rest before closing it with a snap and throwing it back into the trunk. "It's blank, you crazy old coot." He said, rolling his eyes. "Fat lot of good you are."

Turning to my mother's portrait, I found her sharing a small smile with my dad as Sirius rummaged through the random items around the trunk, looking for 'evidence'. She was crying, and he held her tightly, as if afraid he'd loose her again. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned to Sirius.

"How long do you think they've been separated?"

Sirius looked up at the portrait and faltered, watching the couple comfort one another. James hand both of his hands in her hair, bowing his head in an attempt to see her face, obviously talking to her, her hands gripping to his upper arms tightly. "A long time, I'm guessing. They have to know where each other's portraits are to be able to move between them, that'll be why they were covered, so they couldn't communicate." He dropped the random things he was holding and walked back to where I was stood, just as James had supposedly laughed and managed to capture a kiss from his wife.

I suppose it was supposed to bother me, it did most, seeing their parents being affectionate to one another in that way. But it really didn't bother me. It was almost a relief to know that they cared that much about each other, even in portrait form. If there was one thing that I could be certain about when it came to my parents was that they loved each other endlessly, and they loved me just as much. I was just sad that I didn't get to know them, or remember them caring for me.

"I'll take you back to the manor, back to your parents." He said.

James turned to look at Sirius, nodding in thanks.

I opened my mouth slightly to say something, but for some reason I couldn't quite get the question out. I'd never been nervous about talking to my godfather before, but this seemed to be bigger than me. It would affect the entire household, not just me, especially with the people in it. Sirius seemed to see the trouble I was having and smiled carefully. "What is it?"

"I… do you think… could we not… move them to Grimmauld Place?" Sirius looked pained to answer, and I understood. He knew that I had the right to see my parents in such things as photos, and hear about them, but it still hurt him to see his best friends day after day, knowing that he'd never be able to physically see them again. Not to mention the fact that Remus and Mary were also living at Grimmauld place, and he couldn't speak for them. But it was his house, and he had the right to say what did and didn't go on there. I continued. "I mean, I'd understand, if they have to stay at the family home… and if you didn't want them there, it's your house, I just… it's like you said, a part of my parents was put into them paintings, as fake and as magic ridden as it is, there's still more of a sense of them there than there is in any of the captured memories I have in those photo albums."

Sirius forced a smile, and I could tell by the expression on his face that it was physically hurting him to agree, but he did anyway. "Course we can, I can't deny you that." He dropped a hand to my hair, pulling me into a brief, reassuring one armed hug before nodding to my dad. "I'm going to have to shrink these down."

Nodding to show he understood, James disappeared back to his painting. I stood back and watched as Sirius shrunk down both paintings to a suitable size and leant them up against the trunk that the empty book had been in. "Is there anything else you want to bring with you? I wouldn't rush you, but we have to get back in time for Moody arriving… We'll explain when we get there. I can take you back later on in the week, then you can have a proper look around, there is so much of your parents' lives in here, you'd regret not looking now."

I nodded, doing a quick sweep of the room. My eyes fell on the pile of old photo albums. Sirius followed my line of sight. He nodded approvingly. "Right. Help me get them in this trunk, then we can go."

After piling the numerous albums into the bottom of the trunk, Sirius carefully put the two paintings side by side and apologised quietly to them both before closing and locking the trunk. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Come on then… we have a lot to do."

* * *

Landing directly where I had the last time I'd dared to apparate was a mistake, it seemed, as my feet found the same patch of grass that I'd left her. Backing up and turning to walk over to where Dudley had been, I stood and waited for Sirius to say something. Of course he didn't, awkward as the situation was, he wasn't about to break the silence.

Moody, Remus and Mary all slowly found us, having decided upon a point further down the road as they had never been where it had happened while on patrol here before. I sighed. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. Not my bad idea, but still a ridiculous one. What did they hope to achieve in coming here? Obviously if they'd been looking for her she'd been moved before anyone could find her. The question was, who had taken her, and why had they not alerted the correct authorities.

Moody stormed over (as best he could with his wooden leg), and began waving his wand around, casting spells I didn't understand, Remus and Mary coming to a stop beside Sirius. Both were still rather pale after the introduction to the portraits of my parents. The process of putting them up on the wall at the top of the landing had been an awkward experience to say the least. That is until my dad had flipped Sirius off for dropping the frame, Remus had burst out laughing at the familiarly indignant expression on his friends face.

Moody turned to me. "Alright, lad, what happened?"

"Its really not that complicated, it just happened, we were standing there." I pointed out where she'd fallen, and Moody crouched down to scan the floor with his wand. "I left her, I shouldn't have, but I did, and now she's gone, and if you lot didn't move her, then someone did."

His magical eye swivelled around to look at me. "You sure about that, boy?"

I faltered. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? Constant vigilance! If you left her, the muggle police haven't had a report through of a recovered body, there was a search party out here that didn't find a thing, and then there's the Ministry, who haven't heard anything – which I may remind you that you're lucky of, should you not want to be thrown in Azkaban – then what exactly, could have happened to the body of a young girl that was bitten by a vampire, _do you think_?" He explained slowly, and patronisingly.

Sirius replied for me. "You think she's still alive?"

"Well… not alive parse, if you know what I mean… She may not have survived during the transformation, but she was certainly able to move after she woke up."

Remus took a slow, deep breath. "We should call around to see if they've been any recent disturbances in the area." He said in a low, subdued tone, grabbing Mary and Sirius by the arm. "Come on Mr and Mrs Padfoot, I do believe as Police Officers we have every right to knock on a few doors and ask some basic questions." He said.

Sirius grinned. "Oh I love pretending!"

"You mean Role Play." Said Remus slowly.

"No, I mean playing pretend. Now mush, Moon-pie. I wanna go to that house over there, there's a rather fetching young lady sitting on the front lawn."

Remus followed his line of sight. "That's a poodle, Sirius."

"And?"

"You're more human than dog, mate, that's weird. Just hang on two seconds while I transfigure your clothes." He drew his wand and I watched as he transfigured Sirius clothes into black trousers, a white shirt and a black utility vest. Picking up a near by rock, he transfigured it into the standard black police hat and threw it at Sirius.

He flipped it around and placed it on his head with a grin. "Awesome. I'm keeping this, Remus."

"It's a rock, feel free to keep it for the rest of your life." He turned to Mary, who dodged behind Sirius.

"Wait! Put me in a skirt, there's no way in hell I'm wearing that." She pulled at Sirius' pants.

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're going to a couple of houses to see if there's been any weird things going on lately, does it really matter?"

"Yes." She said seriously. "I like to dress up too." She grinned.

Remus snorted. "I'm sure you do." He transfigured her clothes into the same as Sirius', only with a pencil skirt and heeled shoes. She caught her hat and put it on carefully, lifting on leg up behind her and turning her head to the side in a pose.

"Whadaya think? Sexy or what?" She tilted her hat down.

I saw Moody stand to my right and turn to glare at them. "Quit mincing about!" he barked.

Unperturbed, Remus replied with a small laugh. "Kinky bastards, the both of you."

Sirius gasped and bonked his friend on the head with his police hat. "Language! I could charge you for that."

"No you couldn't. Now hurry up and do me before Moody explodes."

Sirius pursed his lips, obviously trying not to laugh. Remus glared at him heavily. "Don't you dare."

Daring, Sirius gasped in a decidedly camp way and waved his hand through the air. "Why Moon-pie! I never knew y-"

Yanking the hat from his friends head, Remus smacked him hard in the ribs. "Its not a Carry On film, Sirius, transfigure my clothes."

Sirius frowned. "…A what?"

Mary shoved him out of the way. "Oh shut up, here you go, Remus."

"If you're finished?" Said Moody, both eyes trained to them in a menacing glower. "Get going! Take a house each, then move on to the next lot, you'll get it done quicker. Just ask about any odd things, even if its something seemingly insignificant to them, it could mean we've had a vampire on the loose here while it was changing, and you know what that means."

Becoming serious, they all nodded and walked off towards the three closest houses. "Why are you so chipper anyway?" Asked Mary, giving Sirius a curious look, her voice carrying down to my sensitive ears from down the street.

"I just found out my godsons not a murderer after all, I think I'm entitled to a little bit of a laugh, don't you? I'm happy."

The seriousness lasted all of 5 seconds, Sirius ruining it back smacking Mary on the arse and using it as a leverage to push her forward a bit. "Come on Miss Moneypenny we must not dawdle!"

She gave him a shove, but went on to the house he'd conveniently nudged her in the direction of. Then of course Sirius decided he wanted the house Remus was going to and ended up in an argument.

"Sirius just go to that one, this hardly looks professional to any muggles watching now does it?"

A weirdly childish squabble that ended with a lot of shoving ensued in the middle of the road between houses 14 and 16. Moody growled under his breath. "Like a couple of bloody teenagers… Stay here, boy. Don't move unless any one starts walking in this direction."

As he walked off to go and sort out my supposed guardians, I wandered over to the swings and sat down. It was probably going to take a while to get them to actually do what they were supposed to be doing, and then get the information. Though to be fair, I was happy for the delay, it held off the time until I had to face Professor Dumbledore.

Moody had been arguing with Sirius and Remus for a good couple of minutes before something moved behind me. It certainly wasn't the wind, and it was too big to be an animal. With the hope of it being Lucy at the forefront of my mind, I checked to see if Moody was looking before walking off into the small cluster of trees around the edge of the park. Everything went quiet.

"Lucy? Lucy if you're there, I'm-"

I staggered backwards as something came flying at me and grabbed me by the front of the shirt. The hold was too light, hardly a threat, and I made the mistake of not reacting to it only to feel something sharp drag across my chest and the feeling of being forced backwards. My vision swam, and everything went black within seconds.

* * *

"Harry! Harry, can you hear me?"

My head was throbbing. "Mmm?"

There was a sigh of relief. "Remus, go back and help Mary, I'll clean him up and leave him with Dumbledore then I'll help finish up here."

There was some distant rustling, then I was being pulled to my feet. "What the hell is it with you? You're not supposed to be able to bleed! Never mind get knocked out – did you hit your head?"

"She must have weakened him before she made the final blow." Growled Moody. I opened my eyes fully and found Sirius standing in front of me, holding me up by the shoulders.

"What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He said, the joking tone he had adopted before gone with the replacement of worry in its wake.

"Never mind the small talk, get him back to headquarters and clean him up – leave him with Dumbledore then come straight back – I need your help with this." There was more rustling as Moody went after Remus, and then a woosh as my ears popped.

Sirius pushed me back into a chair in a cool room.

I felt ill.

"You really shouldn't side along apparate with people that have a concussion, Sirius, he looks sick as a dog."

Someone shoved a potion into my hand as the tap ran behind me. "Drink this; it'll clear your head." Recognising the voice as Albus Dumbledores, I did as I was told.

Waiting for the room to stop spinning, I only blinked as Sirius sat down in front of me and apologised profusely for making it worse, cleaning up what appeared to be a wound across my chest. When I was finally able to look down, I found three long gouges across my chest toward my neck, and a hand print shaped burn in my shirt. Nodding to myself and just deciding to accept that these things just seemed to happen to me, I let him get on with dressing the wound.

"It won't heal normally… you're just going to have to leave it to heal through the venom in your system like you did with your hand." Said Sirius softly. He gently pressed a finger to the side of my neck. "That hurt?"

I winced. "Yes, don't do that." I knocked his hand away and Sirius grimaced.

I have no idea how she burned you, but she definitely made those scratches, and she must have had a hold of you by the neck at some point… what happened?"

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. Sirius tilted his head slightly, waiting for me to explain. "Well I didn't think she was a threat, and by the time I realised it was too late, she's as strong as me, just as quiet, I didn't see it coming."

Sirius closed his eyes. "Right. Well I need to get back to Moody – I'll let you two talk." He stood wearily to his feet and apparated out.

Dropping my head into my hands, I took a slow, calming breath. What the hell was going to happen now? I felt something dig into my leg as I leant forward and frowned, reaching into my pocket to find a small piece of paper, folded repeatedly. Unfolding it to find out what it said, I read two words:

'I wouldn't'

I looked up at Dumbledore, slamming the paper on the table. He took one look at it and sighed.

"What are we going to do with you?"

_**

* * *

**_

Ginny's POV

The train ride to Hogwarts was possibly the most depressing one yet. Never once had I ever gone to school without that initial excitement, thrill of going back to learn how to use my magic and to see all my friends every day. Harry wasn't coming back yet, he still wouldn't talk to me, or anybody else. He refused point blank to go anywhere near the front door this morning, and Dumbledore was supposedly going to be coming to see him sometime around now.

Deep down I knew what he'd done, there was no other explanation for it, he must have killed someone. I had no idea of how I was supposed to take it. It was a part of him, and his nature, and it couldn't be controlled. Did it make me a bad person for wanting to forgive him, to forget that he had actually killed another human being?

What if it was someone I knew? What was I supposed to do then?

The compartment door slammed open and five people came bustling in. One of them was close to tears, two of them cooing and the other two were busily trying to usher everybody in before they began to attract attention. Hermione gave me a wide-eyed look. "Sorry, there are no other empty compartments and she's upset..."

The blonde who was close to tears dropped down into a seat opposite me and put her head in her hands, the dual plaits either side of her neck were laced with black ribbon. She looked up at me with a broken expression on her face. "Sorry, Ginny, I've just gotten some bad news, that's all."

I recognised her from the DA; she was in the year above me, in Hufflepuff. Hannah Abbott. "That's okay, Hannah. What happened?" I glanced at Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Susan Bones, all three in the year above me, the latter also a Hufflepuff. "Or do you not want to talk about it...?" I added carefully.

Hermione closed the compartment door and locked it behind her. "That's what we've been trying to figure out. She got onto the train like this."

Susan sat beside her friend and put an arm around her shoulders. "What's going on, sweetie?"

I moved to sit with my back to the wall, with my feet curled up underneath me so that Hermione could sit beside me. Parvati ended up on the floor at Hannahs' feet, one hand on her knee, and Lavender beside Susan.

She sniffed, her eyes welling up with tears again as she tried to form the words. "I got a phone call this morning off of my dad's ex-girlfriend... My sisters' gone missing." She started to cry, Susan pulling her into a hug. "My dad says that she was last seen out at a party with her boyfriend and his friends. They can't remember much, they'd had a bit too much to drink, but his friend, Dudley said he definitely remembers her storming off at some point. She'd hurt herself, and she refused their help. But then she didn't come home, and her mum called the muggle police but they haven't found any trace of her!" She sobbed.

"I don't know what to do!"

She looked up; bleary eyed, black streaks down her cheeks where her tears had ran.

"Oh, Hannah, I'm so sorry." Said Lavender sympathetically, reaching around Susan to rub her back.

Hermione either wasn't that tactful, which would be surprising, or had something else on her mind. "Dudley? Dudley who?"

"Does it matter?" asked Parvati scathingly.

"Yes." She said sincerely. "Hannah, do you know who this Dudley guy is?"

She nodded, looking happily distracted for a few seconds. "Dudley Dursley. He's a friend of her boyfriends. She didn't like them much. She'd always complain how idiotic, and mean they were when she came to stay..."

Hermione went pale. "Thanks, Hannah... I'm so sorry about your sister, if there's anything I can do to help find her, let me know, I'll be willing to help you in any way I can." She smiled over at her, but grabbed my arm behind her back.

Hannah nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Hermione."

She tilted her head toward the door, pulling me out with her, then dragging me down to the top of the train, near where the driver was. "What's going on? Who's Dudley?"

She pursed her lips, looking around to make sure that no one was around. "Dudley Dursley is Harrys Cousin; you know the one he used to live with before Hogwarts?"

"Oh...But then-"

Hermione nodded. "I think that Hannah's sister might be... I mean it could be a coincidence, but..."

I went quiet, leaning heavily against the metal wall behind me. "What do you think happened to her after... I mean, she said that they found no trace of her."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe the Order covered it up."

I ran my hands through my hair. "God I hope we're wrong. I'd do anything for this to all just be speculation, and he's really just had a run in with some Death Eaters. As horrible as that is, at least he would have survived. This way someone died."

* * *

The rest of the journey to Hogwarts was quiet, the conversation strained, and the tension in the air thick. I couldn't have been happier to get off into the fresh air and back toward the castle for the first time since June. I only had to hope that Harry would be joining us soon.

The talk of him not being seen on the train was already circulating, rumours of what had happened to him already forming. Dumbledore looked slightly down trodden up in his seat at the head table, and I knew that he and Harry must have had a fight. I could never understand how he got away with it. I wouldn't dream of arguing with a wizard like Albus Dumbledore, I doubt anybody would. But Harry did, and he got away with it too.

I suppose it made sense. He and the headmaster had a unique bond. Dumbledore genuinely cared for Harrys wellbeing, and Harry trusted him to the end of the earth, as I'm sure Dumbledore did him as well. It wasn't that Harry didn't respect him, as some might assume, it was that he was so comfortable around the old man that he didn't think twice about making his feelings known. That and he had a raging temper.

"Merlin, Dumbledore looks rough! What do you think happened? It hasn't got something to do with Harry not being here has it?" Adam was sitting beside me at Gryffindor table, proceeding to gorge himself on the awaiting Sunday dinner, the new first years having been previously housed.

"I don't know..."

Hermione shared a look with Ron across from me, clearly thinking the same thing. Resolving to write to him once the feast was over, I managed to stomach the food that Ron was forcing onto my plate and dutifully listened through the headmasters speech before rushing up to Gryffindor tower and hastily pulling a piece of parchment out of my trunk, scribbling a quick letter under the dimming light of the candle lit at my bedside.

_Harry_

_You were right, everybody's already speculating about where you are and what's happened. I think the most ridiculous one was that you knocked up a muggle and her dad put you in hospital, the minds on some of the younger years! Dumbledore looks a bit beat up, I hope you didn't give him too much of a bad time... _

_I saw Hannah Abbott on the train, she was in a bit of a state over her sister, she went missing a few days ago. Apparently there was no trace of her. The last people to see her was her boyfriend and his friends, one of them was Dudley Dursley, he's your cousin, isn't he?_

_...You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, Harry, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't keep me in the dark. I can't forgive you if you don't tell me what I'm forgiving you for. _

_I'm missing you already, _

_Ginny_

* * *

Tap tap tap...

The sound somehow integrated itself into a dream involving Harry and far too much blood, I was all too happy to find out that it was just an owl asking for entry through one of the windows. Or... I thought it was.

Rolling over so I could see the windows across from me (glad that I'd fallen asleep with my curtains open so I didn't have to move to open them to see the disturbance), I found Harry stood out on the indiscriminately small balcony on the far side of the dorm. Shooting out of bed and across the room, I flung the door open, making a worrying amount of noise in my haste. Opening my mouth to no doubt exclaim my surprise, Harry grabbed me, pulled me behind him and closed the door with a gentle click, placing one hand gently over my mouth before I could get fired up.

"Listen to me first, please." he said quietly, not bothering to wait for an answer before continuing on.

"You were right, something did happen the other night, and-"

I grabbed his hand and yanked it away from my mouth. "I know about Lucy, Hannah was upset on the train, she mentioned your cousin and Hermione coined on."

Harry sank back into the wrought iron fence of the distinctly small balcony and shook his head. "I thought I killed her, but I didn't.""

I frowned, unsure of what he was getting at. Then I saw the tares on the front of his shirt. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I was knocked out. But she left me a note; I know she's alive at least."

I felt my brow involuntarily crease in worry. "Where is she then?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just hope she comes and finds me when she's ready. I need to help her. She's the way she is because of me, and the only way I can fix this is by helping her adjust."

I felt my eyes cloud over as I fought back unbidden tears. She was alive. He didn't kill her. A huge weight lifted from my shoulders and my heart was released from the tight hold it had been in all day, worrying about where my morals lay. All that had been on my mind for the past week had been whether or not I could forgive him for what he'd done, whether or not it was morally okay for me to forgive him in the first place. It really wasn't, I knew, but the thought of punishing him for something that wasn't his fault, of hurting him and pushing him away was too painful to imagine.

He was already to strong a part of the way I was. He was in everything I did, everything I thought, if I was to cut him out, or even just try not to think of him anymore there would be nothing left to think about. And that thought scared me beyond belief. The thought that if he wasn't in her head, her mind would be completely blank for long periods of time in between regular thought. I suppose that maybe I was over exaggerating, and that that certainly couldn't be true, but as it stands, I honestly couldn't think of anything that could fill that space where Harry resided in her.

But he didn't kill her. She was still alive. And I could certainly forgive him for slipping up. It may not have been a minor slip up – but nobody died, and that was a massive weight off of my conscience, and no doubt his. I wouldn't have to put on a brave face for his sake to stop him from thinking that I could maybe have doubted him for even a second.

Blinking the tears from my eyes, and only succeeding in making one or two fall, I looked over at Harry. He looked completely lost in himself, unsure. He was staring blankly at the wall, but his hands were clenching so hard onto the metal bars of the balcony that he was starting to misshape the delicate lines of the structure.

I placed one hand carefully on top of one of his and he almost jumped. Not at all surprised in the fact that he was so absorbed in his own turmoil that he had completely eluded his surroundings, I placed the other on his cheek lightly as his head snapped around to look at me. Stroking my thumb across his cheek, I watched him close his eyes slowly and drop his head onto my shoulder. I laced my fingers between his on the railing, and placed the other on his back, resting my cheek against the side of his head.

We were both silent for longer than I cared to count, he was counting my heart beats and I was listening to him inhaling and exhaling slowly and deliberately in a calming motion, taking in my scent. He slid his hand from mine and held me for a moment, letting me bring my other hand to his hair, fiddling with it at the nape of his neck. I was watching the moon over his shoulder as it shone on across the black lake when he moved and blocked my view, frowning when he saw the tears on my cheeks. He didn't saw a word, literally kissing them away where they were on my cheeks before bringing one hand up to swipe the rest away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice sounding slightly raw. He closed his eyes briefly. "I'm so, so sorry for not telling you anything, for blocking you out, for scaring you that night, for worrying you, for letting you find out this way. I'm just… I don't know what to say to make it any better. I'm just sorry, for everything. You didn't deserve being put in this situation, where you had to choose."

"I wasn't-" I started half-heartedly.

He frowned slightly. "Yeah you did. You know you did, in your mind, you had to choose. Because even I couldn't expect you to forgive me for what I'd done at the time. You should have seen Sirius' face when he realised that she was still alive. He looked so relieved, that she didn't die, that I wasn't a killer." He smiled. "I'm not going to hate you for it Ginny. You could have decided that you couldn't handle it if you wanted and I would have understood. It'd hurt, but I can't hate you for taking that route."

Another tear rolled down my cheek and I sobbed softly before I spoke. "Exactly, it'd've hurt. I couldn't hurt you." I took a deep breath as more fell, be it from the same feeling of relief as before, or because of the emotion of this particular moment. "Even if I tried, even if I wanted to leave you, I really don't think I could."

He cupped my face in his hands and swiped at my cheeks with both thumbs, pushing away that particular wave of tears, even in spite of the fact that it only gave way to more. I took his wrists and put his arms back to where they'd been on my waist, closing my eyes. He took the hint and finished the motion of going to hold me tightly. I felt his lips gently brush across mine and held onto the feeling. It'd been longer than I'd thought since he'd last kissed me, and so I found myself tilting my head back and pushing mine into his harder, having missed the feeling, warmth spreading through my entire body as he allowed me to kiss him back.

His hands were incredibly hot as they slid down my back to my waist, pushing my body lightly into his. They got hotter still as they trailed further down my back and danced about my lower back, they were physically burning through the thin material of my nightie as they grasped at the item of clothing hard. I could feel the outline of his nails just barely digging into my skin. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me. It'd been a _week._ We hadn't even been together that much longer before then, it wasn't like we hadn't seen each other in years and were madly in love with each other.

And yet I could feel the moment getting more and more heady, and toxic, the cold night air around us becoming frighteningly heated. His fingers struck the elasticated waist of the top of my knickers through my nightie and I pulled back for breath, my face centimetres from his as I gasped for air. He was looking down at me through half lidded eyes, his hair sticking up more than usual due to the way my fingers had mutilated it in the past few moments. I kissed the corner of his mouth and contemplated biting his lower lip the way he had the last time he'd kissed me in the library at Grimmauld Place. Resisting the urge, I was distracted for a second by the way his fingers continued to trace the outline of the waist of my underwear.

"If you're going to grab my arse, Potter, just _do_ it, don't pussyfoot around it."

He didn't seem to even think about it, just doing as he was told. I found myself gasping in surprise for a second in spite of the fact that I'd just told him to do it, mostly because it had just brought our bodies closer together than before, not so much as a slither of air getting through between us. His lips had found their way to my neck while I was distracted; all I could do was tilt my head to the side to allow him better access, my eyes pretty much rolling into the back of my head as I felt his tongue along the apex of my neck. I felt his teeth graze over that same spot and I felt a jolt shoot straight from that point to my toes.

All too soon he was pulling back and resting his forehead against mine. "I need to go."

I pulled a face. "I know… I just wish I could keep you here."

He smiled. "It's not safe yet. I'll see you soon anyway; Dumbledore plans on taking me in on a test run soon… he's got a new plan on how to get me more in control of everything. Once he thinks I'm ready I'll be in for a short visit…"

I shook my head. "That'll take too long, watch out for me randomly sneaking into HQ at weekends, it feels weird being away from you for too long."

He hummed. "Alright, just be careful, I don't want you to get into trouble over me." He tried to give me a short kiss goodbye but I wouldn't let him, trying to draw him into another snog.

Making a noise of protest, he pulled back. "Don't, Sirius will be waiting for me."

I smirked up at him. "Harry, if you were that desperate to leave, your hands wouldn't still be on my bum."

I grinned sheepishly, letting go of me. "Really, I have to go – just…. Sleep well, stay out of trouble and I'll see you soon."

Just as I was beginning to wonder how exactly he was planning on leaving, or even how he got up here in the first place, he grabbed the railing and jumped up to stand on top of it. I watched in wonder as he gracefully jumped his way down the castle from window ledge to window ledge before taking a firm grasp of the final ledge at least 7 foot up from the ground and propelling himself away from the wall to land crouched on the long grass below. I leant on the railings and watched as he walked away towards the gates to the school normally, not worrying to run until he reached the path running from the front doors to the castle.

I didn't even want to think about how he managed to pass through the wards around the castle walls as he jumped over them in an entirely animalistic way, disappearing from sight.

_

* * *

_

A/N Ahhhhhh, I've actually lost the will to live – its 7am, I haven't slept yet, so sorry for any mistakes. I'd love to say that I'm just that fucking dedicated, but I had a tiff with my best friend – he's REALLY temperamental. Honestly, he's more hormonal than me. But either way, I've spent the last god knows how long blowing peoples brains out on Modern Warfare 2 on my PS3 in between writing parts of this… my brain hurts.

_I think its what normal people call a 'migraine'._

_Imma going to bed now, let me know what you think. _

_There would be heart here but for some reason the arrowy thing wont appear. Fucking fanfiction..._


	17. Blackout

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter ;]_

_A/N: I've decided that I want to complete this story, or very nearly complete it before the end of my summer holidays, if only to keep my mind off the fact that I won't get my exam results until late August and it's killing me =[ So consider any other story I'm writing on hold for the moment until I have this done, but I will be posting random one-shots procured from prompts over the summer too (not as often as I said I would –cba'd), if I have time now that I've decided to do this!_

_**

* * *

**_

**Blood and Chocolate**

Part Two: UnReaL

_Chapter Seventeen: Blackout_

_

* * *

_

Quote: We touch, I feel a rush we clutch, it isn't much, but it's enough to make me wonder what's in store for us. It's lust, it's torturous, you must be a sorceress cause you just did the impossible. Gain my trust, don't play games it'll be dangerous if you fuck me over, cause if I get burnt, I'ma show you what it's like to hurt. Cause I been treated like dirt before ya. And love is evil; spell it backwards I'll show ya […]

_Somethin' I won't go on til you toy with my emotion so it's over It's like an explosion, every time I hold ya wasn't jokin' when I told ya - Ya take my breathe away. You're a supernova, and I'm a…_

_I'm a space bound rocket ship and your heart's the moon. And I'm aiming right at you, right at you… 250 thousand miles and a clear night in June – and I'm aiming right at you, right at you, right at you…_-Parts of the first verse and the hook of _**Eminem's 'Space Bound'**_. Now, I don't like rap, but _Eminem's_ always been my exception. You have no idea how happy I am to see that he's back to his old self again – Relapse wasn't him… but uhm… this song was so full of emotion, it really called out to me for some reason. It really reminded me of Harry and Ginny after a while, actually, so I'd take a look at the lyrics at least if I were you =] -

_

* * *

_

*Ginny's POV*

Waking up to an alarm screaming in my ear for the first time in months was excruciatingly painful. Scarlet jumping on my bed to make sure it definitely woke me up was worse. I groaned and hid my head under my pillow.

"Go away!"

"Not a chance, sweetheart!" She sang. "So what was with Harry last night?" she asked.

I sat up quickly, wide-eyed. "Scarlet!"

"What? You were loud enough! You're lucky you didn't wake anyone else up!" She smirked. "Is he as good a kisser as it looks?"

"Pervert." I said, shoving her off my bed so I could get up.

"Well you looked into it." She defended.

I gave up and dragged her into the empty bathroom, towel in hand. She locked the door behind her. "What was he doing here? I thought he wasn't coming back this year?"

I sighed, throwing my towel over the sink and leaning against it. "He is, just not right now. And he had to tell me something."

She scoffed. "Oh it looked serious."

I frowned at her. "It was, Scarlet."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Really? What did he want – other than to snog your nightie of, obviously."

I threw my towel at her and disappeared into one of the shower cubicles, throwing my clothes over the divider and turning it on. "Nothing that'd interest you, I promise. He missed me…"

"Well I could see that part."

"Oh shut up." Searching for something else to preoccupy her with before she got too curious, my train of thought fell to the new members of staff. "Do you know who the new Defence teacher is? I wasn't paying attention at the feast."

"Some bloke called Willis. Blonde hair, brown eyes, nothing remarkable. He's only young though, so I suppose he's not going to be as much of a drag as most of the other professors." She said. "He seems nice though. I heard from one of the seventh years that Dumbledore was about ready to give in and give the position to Snape when he came and asked for it! Can you just imagine how pissed he must be?" she laughed.

"He is a bit obsessed with that position." I agreed, glad that we didn't seem to have another Umbridge on our hands. "Throw me my towel, will you?"

Turning off the water and catching it, I emerged into a now slightly steamed up bathroom and grabbed a spare towel to dry my hair. "What classes are you taking this year?" I asked, picking up my clothes on our way back into the main dorm room.

Scarlet pulled a face. "Potions, Transfiguration, DADA… Astronamy. And I think Arithmancy. I can't remember what the minimum mark was to get into that class."

I paused in buttoning up my blouse. "What the hell are you planning on doing with that?"

She shrugged, grabbing her tie, the only thing she'd neglected to put on before jumping me. "I dunno. Honestly, I still have no idea what I want to do when I leave. I suppose I have all year to figure it out but… I kinda just took the classes I was best at, then Potions for good measure. You always need Potions. I dropped the ones I was rubbish at at the end of last year so that I could concentrate on the ones I wanted to excel at. At least then I'm guaranteed a few OWL's without wasting my time with the other subjects."

I gave her an encouraging smile. "You'll figure it out. I already know what I want to do… it really won't matter what subjects I take, as long as I have a minimum of 7 OWL's at E grade, and 5 NEWT's at E, they can accept A's, but saying that, they're much more likely to accept me if I get O's… You'd have to be really good for them to accept A's."

"What's this?" She asked curiously, throwing a final few books into her backpack.

My face heated up slightly. "Don't tell anyone, right? If my brothers find out they'll laugh." After she nodded eagerly, I lowered my voice so my other roommates couldn't hear. "I would love to try out being a professional Quidditch player." I said quietly. "It's the only thing that I can imagine myself doing, but no one's ever seen me play before! You know that I'm trying out for Gryffindor this year. If I get in, then I'll go for it, but I need to be sure I'm good enough before I even think about getting my application form for the training programme."

To my surprise, a massive grin spread out across her face. "I'm happy for you, that you're pursuing this, I mean. At least you know what you're doing."

I smiled. "Come on, I'm starving, I barely ate at dinner last night."

* * *

Hannah looked knackered. Her face was slightly pink, and her eyes looked raw. The majority of the seventh years from other houses had been going over to see how she was getting on over the course of breakfast, most assuming that it was Voldermorts doing. It was when she burst into tears after some snide Slytherin made a particularly horrible comment that Professor McGonagall kindly escorted her out of the hall to the Hospital Wing to talk it out with someone.

Hermione shook her head in disgust. "It's horrible, how can they make jokes about blood purity?"

Ron's ears went red. "That's Slytherins for you, isn't it? Scum, the lot of them."

While Hermione was still glaring in the direction of the Slytherin table, I leant over to address my brother. "Did Hermione tell you what we thought about Harry?"

He went pale, suddenly going off his food. "Yeah. But I don't really want to think about it to be honest, Ginny."

"No, I'm not…" I lowered my voice further. "I spoke to him, he saw her, or ran into her, rather. He didn't… she's still alive, if you know what I mean."

Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice. "You mean he turned her into a-"

I nodded hurriedly, hoping that no one overheard the conversation, and if they did, they wouldn't understand. "She hurt him, but he's okay. He also said that Dumbledore's got another plan on how to get him more in control, and that he's going to be coming in for a short time soon as a test run."

Ron looked ill, I knew he'd taken it hard about what Harry was; never mind what he'd done to Lucy. "Ron you know that he didn't mean for-"

He nodded quickly. "Course I do. Just, like I said, don't talk about it." Then he got up and followed Seamus and Dean to Potions.

Hermione sighed. "He'll get there eventually…" She stood up to follow him, then looked down at me curiously. "How did you talk to Harry last night?"

My face flushed with colour. "He came to see me… I'm sure he would have… Well I'm sure he'd have come to see you if the situation weren't as it is."

Hermione looked slightly sad that her best friend thought she wouldn't want to hear it, but nodded in thanks anyway. "Thanks, Ginny. For telling us." She said softly, her head down slightly as she walked off to Potions.

Before I could bare it any thought, someone was grabbing me around the middle from behind and literally lifting me out of my seat. "Adam!" I growled, knowing it was him without even having to think about it. "Get off!"

He set me on my feet with a huge grin on his face. "Morning to you too, Ginny! But seriously, if you don't get your arse out of this hall now, you'll be late for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and you don't want to leave a lasting bad impression on the new teacher now do you?"

The bell rung overhead and I realised that Scarlet had already left, and the hall was mostly empty. "Run!" I said, grabbing his arm.

He laughed, picking up my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "You're ridiculous."

By the time we got there, the class had just gone in, and were about to start. We just about managed to snag our usual seats at the middle of the classroom, up against the windows, when the new teacher turned around to address the class.

Scarlet had been right, he was perfectly ordinary. His name was Jonathan Willis, he was new to teaching, at only 23, and had just dropped out of his job in London as a journalist to work here. He was kind, and patient, got what he was trying to teach across well, and wasn't too hard on us when we got something wrong. He was pretty much perfect. It seemed Dumbledore had done well this time.

He pointed at me with his wand, flicking it up in an invitation for me to stand. "Come to the front, Miss…?

"Weasley, Ginny Weasley." He smiled, and a shudder ran down my spine.

"Do you think you could demonstrate to us the correct way to cast the Diffindo charm?"

I faltered, trying to remember the exact pronunciation. He'd been asking people to stand at random and preform spells that they should know at this level in school. "Uhm… where would you like me to...?"

He pointed at the tapestry covering the entrance to what was no doubt the next classroom in the hall. I took a deep breath. Severing charm, right? Just imagine it happening… "Diffindo!" I waved my wand in a diagonal slashing motion and watched as a jet of purple light tore through the middle of the fabric of the tapestry, fraying it slightly at the edges, but otherwise looking as though it had been cut cleanly with a knife.

He nodded in approval. "Well done!" The bell went and I relaxed. "Homework is for those of you who couldn't perform your spell properly to perfect it, the rest of you are free!"

Adam pushed my bag into my arms and began to lead me backwards out of the door, Willis' eyes were still locked with mine and I couldn't look away. A feeling of dread washed over me. Was he really as nice as he seemed? My head began to ache. I looked away. I stumbled slightly coming out of the door and Adam had to catch me before I hit the ground.

"You alright?" He laughed. "You're never normally clumsy, that's reserved for Scarlet!"

I put one hand to my head. "I think so, just got a bit of a headache, that's all." I ran my hand through my hair, blinking hard as the room swam a little bit.

An entire hoard of cocky first years came running down the hall, shouting and laughing at each other and I got shoved into the wall with Adam, who held onto me tightly with both arms as I paled, and got severely lightheaded. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and hid my face in his shoulder, feeling his hand come up to the back of my head protectively as another lot of students came walking by. The bell went again and nearly ripped my head in two.

Next thing I knew I was laying on a soft bed in a very white room. My headache was gone, but I could hear my heart drumming in my ears. Was I in the Hospital Wing? I tried to sit up, but a strong hand came down on my shoulder to push me back down.

"Stay still for a bit, Gin, you blacked out." Turning around I found a very pale, very worried looking Adam sat next to my legs on the bed.

I was still in my uniform, lying across the top of the bed sheets. "What happened?"

"Well, you went a bit funny after you stumbled in the hall, and then those kids came running through so I grabbed you to stop you getting jostled by them too much. I figured if I had to standing still for a moment or two, you'd be alright, but then you went really pale. The bell rang and you sort of went limp, I didn't know what to do, so I took you here, you've been out for about fifteen minutes."

I groaned. "Why can't things just be normal? It's my first day back!"

Madam Pomfrey came in holding a clip board and a pepper-up potion. "Drink this." She looked down at Adam disapprovingly. "You should go back to your classes before you get into much more trouble."

"But-"

"Miss Weasley will be fine with me, don't you worry. Now off you go." She pointed at the door, then waited for him to leave before asking me to sit up. "How's your head, any pain?"

"No, I did before, but it's gone"

"Right… what were you doing before you fainted?"

"I was on my way out of a class."

She pursed her lips. "And when was the last time you ate?"

"This morning, I had a full English for breakfast."

She scribbled something on her clipboard, her lips still pursed, looking indecisive. "I'm half tempted just to let you go, but you don't just faint for no reason, and even if it had just been a case of first day back jitters, you'd have come straight around. You were completely comatose for fifteen minutes. I'd like to find out if there's anything going on that could have caused it, but as I said, it's your first day back, it wouldn't do for you to miss your classes if this is nothing."

"Well I feel fine. I just got a sudden headache, and then I was here. I feel fine now, really." I don't think I could stand to survive staying in here overnight while she ran tests.

She sighed, turning to someone across the room that I hadn't seen before. "What do you think professor? You were there; did it look at all sinister?"

"Not at all, she just sort of went." It was Professor Willis.

I suddenly felt embarrassed that he'd had to come all the way down here with Adam because I fainted in front of his classroom – on his first day. I put my head in my hands and groaned. Madam Pomfrey took it the wrong way.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Sorry, yeah, I'm fine; it's just been a long few weeks." I admitted.

The healers' eyes lit up with a sudden realisation. "Oh? Have you been stressed, worried, anxious… any recent trauma or death in the family…?" She asked.

I nodded. "All of those, I think. Especially over the past few days."

She began to bob her head in understanding. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Not at all!" I said, trying not to sound happy that she'd found reason enough to pass it off as somewhat normal.

"Then it's most likely just the stress, especially if you've not been sleeping well, nightmares I take it?"

I nodded shortly and she went into her store cupboard, coming back a short while later with a few phials. "These are dreamless sleep potions. They're in half portions, enough to get you off to sleep and keep the nightmares at bay. All you have to do is take one every night right after dinner, and you'll sleep right through." She handed me them carefully. "There's enough there to last you until Thursday, it should give your body the time to recuperate, then it's up to you." She leant forward and lowered her voice so that the professor couldn't hear her. "Minerva did warn me that you'd had some trouble over the summer, so if you ever need to talk, or if you're not feeling right, come straight to me, okay?" I nodded, and she smiled. "Alright, I'll let you get back to your classes. If you feel even the slightest bit light headed again, come right back, you hear me?"

"Of course." I nodded again and picked up my bag.

Madam Pomfrey turned to Willis one last time before I had the chance to get out. "Would you be so kind as to escort her to her next lesson, just in case?"

The professor nodded good naturedly and led me out of the Hospital Wing. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes, professor, I'm fine. I'm sorry for disrupting your day." I looked up at him apologetically and he smiled again in that way that sent a horrible shiver down my spine.

"Don't worry about it; I had a free period next anyway. As long as you're alright."

I had no idea why I felt so uneasy around him. I suppose it was most because of the current trend we had with Defence teachers. They all seemed to turn bad one way or another, disregarding Professor Lupin, of course. Willis seamed nice enough, and a good teacher to boot, it wouldn't be very good of me to immediately assume that he was going to go the way of his predecessors. So I politely thanked him at the door to my Transfiguration class and tried to shake that feeling of dread that he was going to hurt this school somehow off.

_

* * *

_

*Harry's POV*

The sound of music blaring throughout the house as Sirius, Remus and Mary continued to re-decorate wasn't as distracting as one might think while I was trying to read the book Dumbledore had given me. He'd explained that his new plan to help me gain better control, fast, was to have me learn to become an Animagus, as farfetched and as difficult as it may seem, it did seem doable. He had McGonagall on standby to come and see how I was doing once a week, on Saturdays, and then Sirius and Remus had done all of that research back in school to become Animagus without anyones help.

If anyone could help me do this safely it was them. Apparently it'd be easier to do for me, because the hardest part of the process was getting in tune with your surroundings, and with the raw earth enough to be able to connect fully with your 'inner animal'. My being a Vampire definitely cut out a lot of that process. He'd started me off by explaining the basic starting process, and giving me books to help me through the first stage. I had to read all of them by Saturday, because McGonagall was coming to help me with the second part.

I'd read the first one already _'Animagi: Becoming One With the Animal Within'_ which gave a good introduction to Animagi, the process leading up to actual transformation and how the transformation process worked, along with why you needed to be in close contact with the environment around you and the use of runes was needed, which explained the final book (which I was told to read last). The second was simply titled _'Transmorphing in Humans'_ by _Bathilda Bagshot_, which gave a brief history and background on the process of Human-Animal transfiguration, how Lancanthropy was different, and how the first Animagus came about. The third was '_Ancient Runes and You' _which was basically just a book full of every rune known to man, what they meant, and how they affect humans, along with a small introduction at the beginning to runes.

When he'd first given me the book on runes I hadn't completely understood, but after reading the first book, I found out that the process couldn't even start unless you had chosen five runes that 'connected' to you, whatever that meant. I was sure that all it meant was finding ones that meant something to you, or described you in some way, but Sirius had sad that as I was going through the book, if I concentrated hard enough they'd 'choose me'. I'd just know that they were the right ones.

Meditation was also involved, which must be one of the reasons Dumbledore wanted me to at least try, where as if I did succeed, getting control of the other side of me, the more animalistic one would hopefully include my instincts as a Vampire.

There was a bang in the next room. Glad to stop reading about how a man once half transformed into a lion and got stuck that way, I bookmarked the page and walked into the den. All of the furniture that had been put in there to make it more homely had been removed, and it looked bigger. Not just because it had nothing in it, it genuinely looked twice the size. I expected them to be moving something, but Mary was laughing as she tried to make Sirius wiggle his hips in a certain way.

Why did that song sound so familiar?

I watched with a weird sense of Déjà vu as they followed the same repetitive motion of one arm going up in the air, the second coming up to join it, stepping forward with each one, then both going down behind them, and that ridiculous hip movement from before. There was literally no words to describe how silly they looked. Remus came walking in with a pot of paint, and I finally noticed the old sheets that covered the carpet, and the half painted walls. Remus almost dropped the pot laughing.

"What the hell are they doing?"

"Having an 80's flash back." He said seriously. "Have you ever seen anyone doing the 'Prince Charming', Harry?"

"Can't say I have, Remus."

"Well that's it." He pointed to the wireless in the corner of the room and paid attention to the music.

They were moving in time with the rhythm, each step forward on a drum beat, with the lyrics 'Prince Charming, ridicule is nothing to be scared of' repeating itself. "An '80's flash back'?" I repeated.

He nodded, grinning for the first time in a while and placing the paint down in the corner of the room. Sirius turned around laughing. "Moony you have to do this, I don't know whose idea it was to play this on the wizarding wireless but I fucking love them!" He went to grab Remus to make him join in when he spotted me and laughed harder still, beckoning me in. "You're father – your lovely, lovely father, threw a party late on in 1981, year after you were born. We'd just graduated from the Auror Academy – it was amazing, he had Albus Dumbledore doing this dance!"

That was pretty much it after that; I had Mary trying to make me do the dance, and Sirius encouraging her. After what was a light-hearted argument, I ended up helping them paint the room white. "What are you doing this for anyway?" I asked. "I thought it was fine the way it was…"

Sirius flicked a bit of paint at Mary childishly. "We're changing the purpose of the room, so… new stuff. Or not new stuff. It'll be mostly empty."

I stopped painting to turn to him questioningly. "Why?"

"You'll see, it's for you, mostly. Dumbledore asked for a room that was completely white, he wanted to try something out."

"You killed your drawing room because he wanted to 'try something out'?" I said slowly.

Sirius laughed, finishing up one last bit on his wall (we'd taken one each) before turning to me. "He's Albus Frickin' Dumbledore. He could tell me that if I jumped off a cliff I'd survive and I'd believe it, then bloody well do it." He pointed his paint brush at me. "You just wait, when you're older, you'll be even more of a Legend, and people will be exactly the same with you."

I cringed. "I hope not. I just want a normal life…"

Sirius suddenly looked sad. "I know you do, kid, it'll happen eventually, I'd say, but I'm afraid you're going to go down in history as the only person to ever survive the killing curse, and probably the only person to ever thwart Voldemort as many times as you have. You're more famous than you allow yourself to realise, Harry." He appeared behind me and kissed the top of my head, ruffling my hair. "We'll be here though." He grinned. "To create all the distractions you need to have some time to yourself."

Laughing, despite the fact that I really didn't like the idea that he'd have to do that in the first place, I sat down just short of the drying wall and looked back over at him. "What exactly do I have to do to become an Animagus? I mean, I read the book – I just don't quite understand how it's supposed to happen."

Sirius pursed his lips, thinking. "Well…" He sat down opposite me on the old sheets adorning the now wooden floor. "It's… complicated."

"I gathered that. But you've done it before!"

He hummed, pulling a face. "Yeah… but… Well, you start off by finding your chosen runes, or rather letting them choose you. Then you have to get into meditating, honestly, its bloody annoying, I never did quite get that part right. You need to use it to relax, feel your magic flowing out of you and into your surroundings, and be able to see what you can't see – which won't make sense now, but you'll know when you get there. Once you're ready, you'll use this room, where you've already gone ahead and drawn those runes across the floor, it's quite intricate, and you have to do it yourself, but I'll help you with that. You need to sit in the middle of the room and concentrate, do what you were doing when you were mediating, and again, see what you can't see, which as I say, you'll understand when you get there. It takes a long while, but eventually you should be able to see what animal you're going to be, maybe even the people around you. I knew what James was going to be before even he did."

He paused, and looked at Remus briefly as he signalled something, widened his eyes, and pointed to the door. Sirius shook his head and scowled, then turned back to me. "You have to make a potion to induce the first transformation, which I'm telling you now, is quite painful – then… well, it's all a case of practice. Once your body, and your magic knows what it's going to be, and knows how to change, it's up to you to control when you change. You can't let your emotions overrule it. I almost changed into a dog in the middle of the courtyard after I'd just about mastered it because of Snape, which can't happen to you if you're going to be doing this even still once you get back to school. I mean… you won't have any control over what you're doing the first few times you do manage it. You're instincts as that animal will take over and that's it. Which is why it's so dangerous for you to try, but also the key to you being able to control this part of you."

I nodded slowly. "Okay… so is that what McGonagall's coming here for on Saturday? To help me with the meditation part?"

"Yeah."

"Sirius!"

He scowled. "Sorry, Dumbledore's called an emergency meeting, I should go." He sighed. "Go upstairs and see if you can find some books on meditation, it might help. Otherwise, I'd just get to finding those runes, if you get them done sooner, I'll help you with the next step earlier and Minerva can just oversee everything come Saturday."

Smiling at him in thanks as we both stood, he got yanked out of the room by an irate Remus Lupin. "Everybody's waiting!"

As I was walking past the door, two hooded figures made their way in through the front door and I stopped in my tracks. Why did they feel so familiar?

They froze too, the one on the right grabbing the others wrist in what I could only assume was shock; their hoods completely clouded their faces. "Who-"

Dumbledore popped his head around the door. I watched his face pale slightly when he saw me standing opposite the new comers. "Hello, Harry, how's the reading going?"

"I'm almost done, Sir."

He put on a forced smile. "Good, good…" He turned to the hooded figures. "If you'd make your way through here… they're ready to see you."

They brushed past me as I turned for the stairs and goosebumps shot up my arm. The one I'd bumped into turned to me as I shuddered when coldness washed right through me.

Who were they?

* * *

It wasn't the quiet footsteps into the library, nor the soft thud of someone placing a book on the glass, claw footed coffee table in front of me that woke me a short time after oh so stupidly falling asleep in the black library. Rather the feeling of someone touching my cheek. Still half asleep, I opened my eyes slightly to the dim light of the fire illuminating Ginny's face as she sat knelt by the sofa.

I couldn't stop myself from taking in a deep breath, pulling in her scent. She noticed and smirked down at me, dropping her hand onto my stomach while she leant heavier against the chair. "Hello." her eyes sparkled at me as she turned her head and they caught the fire. "I thought I'd come and see you... Scarlett's covering for me. As far as people know I've gone for a walk around the lake to clear my head. And if I'm still not back I went to the Library. Then if some smart arse goes looking for me – I've gone to bed."

I grinned. "What if you're not in bed?"

"Then she has no bloody idea and they should piss off asking her about me."

Laughing, I grabbed her hands and pulled her up onto the sofa. She hummed softly as she settled down on her side against the back of the sofa, her head on my chest. "Do I want to know how you managed to get out of the castle and find your way here?"

"If I told you I'd have to kill you."

"Of course." I agreed, sliding one arm around her back. "Did anyone see you come in?"

"No. I'm good at sneaking around."

I frowned. "Yeah...I noticed that, you know. Why is it that you seem to be able to sneak up on me without my noticing, when no one else can. Whenever anyone comes within a certain distance of me, when I'm not concentrating on my surroundings, I can hear them coming, I can sense where they're going to go, I can hear their heart beating, it thuds in my ears like it's my own. But you're completely off my radar unless I'm looking for you."

I looked down at her and she shook her head, sitting up slightly on her elbow. "I don't know, it's your head." she saw the expression on my face and rolled her eyes. "Maybe you unintentionally let your guard down when I'm near."

I sighed, dropping my head back against the arm of the chair. "Probably."

"Stop looking so miserable, I missed you!" She kissed my cheek.

I apologised quietly, turning my head to kiss her properly afterwards. Rolling on top of me not too gracefully, she leant over me. "I miss having you around." She complained. "It's stupid and childish, I know, because it's been about five days since I last spoke to you, but I bloody well miss you anyway."

He grinned. "Yeah, I missed you too." Then I remembered what I'd found the last time Sirius took me to my vault. "Here, I found this…" trying to reach into my back pocket, whist successfully keeping us both on the sofa the way we were didn't work – and we both ended up on the floor.

She was laughing as I awkwardly sat up, straddling her hips, finally able to safely get to what I'd been trying to find in the first place. "For a vampire you're not very graceful, or agile, Potter, you reject." She sat up and kissed my shoulder, leaning back on her hands afterwards.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out an enchanted mirror. "This, my dear, is for you."

He smirked as no doubt many, many comebacks popped into her head. She held them back. "A mirror? How thoughtful. I always knew I was secretly vain enough to want to know what I looked like on the go."

Taking mine out of my pocket, I waved it at her, covering her mouth with my other hand as she opened it to no doubt make a sarcastic comment on how their a matching pair so I could speak. "It's an enchanted mirror – all you have to do is say my name and I'll appear on the other side."

"Will you now?"

"Yes. Just incase you ever need to speak to me for whatever reason. I'll be here."

She cooed, wrapping both arms around my neck and kissing me. "Oh, thank you."

Blatantly taking advantage of the way we were sitting on the floor, I leaned her back into the carpeted floor between the coffee table and the sofa – far more gracefully than I'd gotten her there than before – only this time her shoulder caught something particularly hard. Swearing to herself, she grabbed my discarded book. "Ancient Runes…" she skipped the title, then raised an eyebrow. "Enjoying some 'light reading' were you Harry?"

I took the book. "Not exactly."

"So what is it that you were doing here, anyway?" Asked Ginny, deftly taking the book back out of my hands.

"Dumbledore wants me to become an Animagus." I explained shortly.

Her eyes lit up immediately, flicking through the book. "Really? So what's this for?"

Taking it back, I opened it to the first page. "It's a book full of runes… you need five to be able to start…"

"What are yours?"

Shrugging, I pointed to the parchment lying on the coffee table. It had the three that I'd managed to find so far on it, drawn replicas. She picked it up, folding her legs underneath herself as she 'studied' it. "Uruz, Isa, Tiwaz, and Hagalaz... What do they mean?" She shook her head at me, frowning.

He picked up the book and flicked through to the right page. "...Isa is Ice. A challenge or frustration. Physical blocks to thought of activity, including grievances. Standstill or a time to turn inward and wait for what is to come, or to seek clarity. It reinforces the runes around it. Uruz means Auroch, which is a wild ox. It stands for physical strength, speed and untamed potential. Freedom, energy, action, courage, tenacity, understanding and wisdom... Sudden unexpected changes, sexual desire and masculine potency... the shaping of power and pattern, formulation of the self."

"Bit of everything, then?" She said, raising her eyebrows. "What about the other two?"

"Tiwaz means... Tyr, the sky god. Honour, justice, leadership and authority. Analysis, rationality. Knowing where your true strengths lie. Willingness to self-sacrifice and victory and success in any competition or in legal matters... but Tiwaz reversed is a mental paralysis, over analysis, over-sacrifice, injustice, and imbalance. Strife, war, conflict... failure in competition, dwindling passion, difficulties in communication and possibly separation."

"Sounds like you." She said, letting me sit back against the armrest before moving to settle between my legs. I moved my arms around her so the book was sitting on her lap as I read the final one.

"Hagalaz – Hail: wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Tempering, testing and trial, controlled crisis, leading in completion, inner harmony. Hagalaz cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition as natural disaster, catastrophe, stagnation and loss of power, pain, loss suffering, hardship, sickness and crisis."

"Did you choose these?" she asked softly.

"No, they sort of choose you, it's hard to explain – sort of a feeling really." I closed the book but she took it out of my hands to get a better look.

"How's it supposed to-" she'd opened the first page when she got her answer… sort of.

The pages flicked straight to the middle by themselves, and a symbol began to glow on the page showing. She dropped the book into her lap in surprise. "You – what? Did that happen with you?"

I shook my head. "No. Who's the misfit now?"

Wide-eyed, and slightly pale, she went to touch the page, just about managing to read the title 'Berkano' before she had to retract her hand as it went off again, landing somewhere nearer the front. "That one's Sowlio – the sun... elemental power, the sword of fire…." She whispered. "Do you think… what happened with Greg… it can't be connected can it?"

I could pretty much feel the fear stirring in her stomach as she waited for the next one to appear. "I don't know. Maybe. I should talk to Dumbledore about it next time he's here. The book certainly shouldn't be doing this…"

"Kenaz – power of light, regeneration, passion and sexual love." She read quickly, skimming before it jumped onto the next one. " Ansuz – revealing insight, power over words and naming... and 'Eithwaze' – Reliability, defence and protection... That's all of them..."

I stayed quiet for a short while, unsure of what to say while she closed the book and sat forward, head in her hands. It was when I noticed that she was shaking that I wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her back towards me. Turning in my arms, she accidentally knocked the book back onto the floor as she curled up in an all too vulnerable position.

She was shaking, though not crying, the expression on her face an awful mix of terror and worry. She pushed her forehead particularly heavily into my chest, like she wanted to sink through it and disappear completely. "What the hell's wrong with me, Harry?" she voiced, muffled slightly.

"What do you mean?" I held onto her, keeping her where she was.

She sniffed, shaking her head. "I don't know. There's so much going wrong with me lately. I mean, I know I have to right to complain to you of all people, with everything that's going on with you, but I'm so scared of what's happening to me."

A short, humourless laugh escaped my lips. "Believe me, Ginny, I'm happy to hear other people's problems – it's a weird relief to not have to think about my own."

She went silent for a short while and I caught myself counting each long, deep breath she took before finally sitting up, and straddling my legs, dropping her hands to my shoulders. She looked determined, and fierce. She looked directly into my eyes as she began to explain. It was almost like she was trying to get into my head.

"I've had nightmares. Horrific ones where the people I care about die because of me. Where Gregory is screaming at me, and Adams Auntie is lying dead somewhere nearby. I can't look away, I can't stop listening to what he's saying, and I can't escape from all the darkness, and hate, and death." She said, her face contorting in what could have been misconstrued as anger, but it wasn't. She was upset, and confused, trying to make sense of it all.

"And then... There's the constant thought that you-know-who wants me for some reason, and that that other vampire, Saiph, is willing to go to him for help to get to me as well – it's like they're working together for one common purpose, and I don't understand what the hell they'd want with me exactly. But I'm nothing special, I can't do anything of note, I'm just about good enough at most things, but not great at it, or enough so to the point where it could amount to anything. I just sort of manage to coast by with my school work without really having to try too hard; I'm nothing like the other Weasleys... I'm just... plain."

She shrugged at me, and laughed, shaking her head. "I don't understand. You-know-who obviously wants be badly enough to accept the help of a second party, which is really quite bad, I'd say. Not to mention the fact that, amongst all that, I accidentally burned someone when they threatened me. I still don't know how I did that. Hermione seems to have an 'idea' about what's going on, but she won't tell me until she's certain. I mean, she seems to know why your magic marked me too, but she's not letting anything go with that until she figures it all out, and Dumbledore be damned, if she finds out, I want to know, I can't afford to wait to figure it out myself."

She took a deep breath and watched as the gas lamps in the library flickered gently over the top of my head before retrieving eye contact. "It burns you know, every time I touch you." She said, holding up the hand with the bright red scar running along the back of her hand and wrist and I took it, examining the groves. She was breathing quite heavily with whatever emotions that had been running through her as she ranted. "I only noticed when you kissed me, that first time… I grabbed your arm and it burned. Not in a bad way, it just… well I felt it." She pursed her lips. "You remember the night it marked me, and Dumbledore was explaining about him expecting great things of me because of the way I was born into the Weasley clan? Hermione looked at him like she knew what he was saying, and said 'the first mark'. I've asked her about it, and she said it was just a hunch, and she'd look into it for me but…" She sighed, and shook her head in defeat.

"I've not been sleeping; I've constantly got a bloody migraine. I've not been concentrating in classes because of it. Every now and again I'll just black out because of it. Three times this week, it's happened. Once on my first day back, then again on Wednesday and Thursday. Everything goes blurry, and my head feels like its going to explode, then everything goes black… I've been in the Hospital wing every day since Wednesday, Madam Pomfrey's stuck… she's had Dumbledore down and even he doesn't know what's going on… Albus Dumbledore. I mean, I know it's not exactly magical or anything, but he usually knows everything. I'm… scared, of what's happening to me."

She went silent again, relaxing down on my legs and leaning against the back of the sofa. She closed her eyes briefly to calm down a bit. I had no idea what to say to her. She wanted answers and I had none. All she's succeeded in doing was making me aware of the fact that she was possibly in more danger than I'd originally realised, which made me scared for her wellbeing away from the safety of Grimmauld Place. Running my thumb along the outline of the imprint on her hand, she jumped slightly, looking down just seconds before a small crackle of magic shot between my fingertip and the mark on her hand.

We both watched with rapt attention as my thumb began to glow a soft blue as electric blue snapping and crackling bolts of what looked like lightening connected me to her, dancing along the middle of the scar tattooed into her skin, following each curve and line down the middle, where it was at its darkest. It created a bright blue river of magic through the middle. She shuddered involuntarily. I couldn't feel a thing, other than the fact that she seemed to be giving off a sudden large amount of heat.

"You alright?"

She opened her mouth to try and say 'yes' but the words got stuck in her throat and she had to nod.

I tore my eyes away from our hands. "I'll uhm… I'll try to get in touch with Hermione, find out what she knows. I'll ask Sirius to contact Saint Mungo's about the headaches and blacking out, and… well, there's nothing I can do about Voldemort or Saiph right now, but I have a lot of time on my hands in between Remus catching me up on my subjects so… I can look up the burning thing, if that'd help put your mind at rest."

She looked away as well and took a deep breath of relief. "Thank you." She said it with such emotion that there was no doubt in the world that she meant it with all her heart.

Keeping her hand still in mine, she slid her other hand into the hair at the nape of my neck and kissed me in appreciation. Someone cleared their throat behind us and Ginny nearly shot out of her seat. Sirius was standing with his eyebrows raised, and his arms crossed. Ginny's hand flew out of mine and the connection was broken, the blue light gone.

Sirius unfolded his arms. "You know you…" he pointed between us. "There was a thing…"

"Eloquent, Sirius." I said sarcastically, standing and pulling Ginny up with me.

He looked serious. "No, I mean – there was this spark, blue light when you…" he trailed off awkwardly.

Ginny laughed. "How long were you standing there?"

"Couple of seconds, I'd just walked in when you kissed him – and there was this spark…"

Ginny smiled to herself slyly and took my hand, tangling the tips of our fingers together and holding them up to show the small electric bolts jumping through our fingertips. It came as a surprise to see it there again, because I hadn't felt anything. It'd hurt when I was completely human, but now it was just sort of warm, and even then I wouldn't feel it if I didn't concentrate on it. She clearly did though. Sirius nodded. "Yeah… like that…" He said slowly.

Ginny's cheeks flushed slightly and she let go of my hand, removing the connection once again.

Sirius shook his head, rubbing his temples. "Why are you so weird? One minute you're bloody boiling, despite the fact that you're not supposed to be, the next your freezing. And you bleed – occasionally, depending on the weapon. Not to mention-"

"What do you mean, freezing?" Ginny interjected.

"He went cold the other day and stayed like that." He explained.

Ginny smirked. "Well he's not now."

Sirius, clearly not believing her, walked over and put both hands either side of my face. Then he made a particularly odd noise and shook his head, backing up. "You're such a freak." He laughed. "Why can't you be normal? Merlin, one of these days, eh? One day, nothing'll go wrong, you won't go weird, and nothing will try and kill you. And it shall be a good day." He said.

Ginny laughed, but I couldn't. I wasn't entirely sure why either, it just literally wouldn't leave my throat. Sirius frowned at me. "I didn't mean it – I was joking…"

"Yeah, I know, don't worry about it."

His eyebrows came even further together. "What's wrong?" He sounded wounded.

"Nothing – shouldn't you be asking Ginny why she's here and packing her back off to Hogwarts?" I changed the subject quickly, inadvertently throwing Ginny in it.

She bumped me gently with her hip. "I could have gotten away with that!"

Sirius looked quite amused at his own stupidity. "How did you get here without being detected? Or do I not want to know?" He added.

"You don't want to know." She confirmed. "I've been a bit funny all week though… I really needed to come and talk to Harry before I lost my head."

He pursed his lips. "Yes, McGonagall said… she's worried about you…"

Ginny instantly paled and I knew why. McGonagall never worried about anything.

"When are you going back?"

"Sunday afternoon if I can get away with it." She said, giving him a cheeky smile.

"Well I'd be a hypocrite if I told you you couldn't. But as far as Remus is concerned, I haven't seen you, and you're not here to see anyway, okay?"

"Thank you." She nodded appreciatively.

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair, clearly trying to remember why he came in here in the first place. "Oh – right! Yeah, McGonagall's waiting downstairs, so you need to go, and Ginny needs to hide and… I need to Dumbledore about you going funny again…" He nodded to himself, eyes not entirely focused as he tried to remember if he'd forgotten anything.

I still hadn't quite gotten that fifth rune… Swearing internally, I picked up the discarded book, and parchment, making my way out as Ginny artfully sneaked across the top of the landing to avoid detection by the head of Gryffindor house. Walking down the stairs with Sirius, I remembered my promise to Ginny.

"Sirius?"

"Mmm?" He hummed absently, glaring at a particularly gruesome looking portrait of an ancestor of his that he's accidentally missed.

"Can you do me a favour, and try and contact those Healers that helped me? Ginny's worried about what's happening to her, and I was wondering if they'd be able to look into it."

Raising his eyebrows only slightly in what was apparent surprise, he nodded shortly. "Sure. But if Dumbledore doesn't know what's going on, I highly doubt they will."

"Tell them thanks anyway."

"Potter! There you are! Have you got your runes?" She was standing waiting in front of the now empty drawing room.

"Sort of…"

"What do you mean, sort of? You either do, or you don't." she beckoned me into the eerily empty room.

"Well, I have four, but I'm not too sure on the last one…"

She sighed impatiently. "Well? I don't have all day – which ones do you have?"

"Uruz, Isa, Tiwaz, and Hagalaz…"

"Auroch, Ice, Tyr and Hail?" She said sceptically. "Which is the one you aren't sure on?"

"…Thurisaz."

"The thorn? As in of Thorr, god of thunder?"

"Yes…"

"Well then find it again – and really think. Is it the right one?"

The pages flew through my fingers to the correct page, though not with the force that they had with Ginny. The moment I set eyes on the symbol my mind shot off in a million different directions, I knew it was right. Pulling a face, I handed her the book. "Yeah, it's right…"

"Good. Now… to speed things along – this needs to happen as soon as possible – I think I'm going to put it to you the decision of skipping over the initial meditation. I mean, the options there, if you'd rather jump straight into trying to find your animal… You shouldn't need to practice, it should come naturally with being what you are."

I nodded. "Yeah… I'd rather just get straight into it to be honest, what do I have to do?"

"You need to mark the walls with the runes. Normally, in rituals involving them, you have to fashion them into certain patterns and forms but… I think you'll be safe with placing one on each wall so they completely surround you – then they can just pull you in. You have Isa, right? That strengthens the rest of the runes, so… put that up above you, the other four randomly on each wall. Then you need to make yourself comfortable in the middle of the room, relax, concentrate on your surroundings, let yourself go, and call out to the runes." She explained, walking into the middle of the room.

"It isn't likely to work the first time around, and it'll probably take a few times to actually see the animal – you do not get rid of the marks each time you finish. They have to stay – removing them will have bad consequences, I'm warning you, leave them. Each time you start again, redo them, place them on the same wall as before, just in a different place. It'll strengthen the connection."

"And how am I putting them on the walls?"

"With your wand." She answered shortly, drawing her wand.

"H-"

"You burn them, Potter." She looked slightly annoyed. "Did you not read the book?"

"Of course I did…"

"Well then." She barked. "Get on with this; I can't be here while you're doing it… I think the headmaster is having an order meeting in about ten minutes anyway, so I should still be here afterwards – you can tell me the results."

"Of course, professor."

"Good luck, Potter."

When she closed the door behind her it melted into the wall, leaving it completely clear. There were no windows, but I did notice that Sirius must have planted candles about the room, because the moment everything was plunged into darkness they lit themselves. Pulling off my hoody, I threw it into the corner of the room and drew my wand.

"Right…" I murmured to myself, first pointing it at the wall where the door had once been, trying to remember the spell that brought up fire blazoned letters.

Entirely unsure of how big it was supposed to be, I flicked my wand in the shape of the rune so it'd be about the size of my hand. Uruz – physical strength and speed appeared as a ᚢ, in a charred black in the otherwise white wall. Thurisaz – the 'force of destruction and defence' appeared as a ᚦ on the west most wall, Hagalaz – the 'destructive, uncontrolled forces' (ᚻ), on the east, and finally Tiwaz behind me on the North – the sky god – leadership, honour and authority as ᛏ.

I actually felt somewhat apprehensive, pointing my wand at the ceiling to place the long, single line that was Isa, that was to reinforce the others. I had no idea why – but an odd feeling of foreboding came with it. As my wand burned the steady line into the wall, it glowed white, shining down on me so brightly I almost had to shield my eyes. The moment I dropped my arm the others opened out in the same flash of light and glowed blue. The candles blew out in a gust of none existent wind and the room was cast in a low, greyish blue light from the runes.

Throwing my wand to my jacket, I positioned myself in the middle of the room, preferring to sit, and faced the wall with Uruz on it. Although both the book and Professor McGonagall had told me exactly what to do, I still wasn't sure what the hell I as supposed to be doing. Deciding to go by what I did to clear my head and relax when the sheer _noise _of everything around me got too bad, I closed focused my eyes onto the rune in front of me and let every single part of me relax into the ground. It felt odd to breathe, because the air had nowhere to go, but I did it anyway – long, deep breaths, allowing my eyes to close by themselves as they saw fit, clearing my mind and allowing everything else in to take place of my thoughts.

There was an over powering smell of something severely burnt, no doubt Sirius trying to cook dinner, and the chatter of those in the kitchen speculating that Dumbledore's reasoning for the impromptu meeting when they were due one tomorrow was for the new members he wanted to introduce tomorrow. Even stronger was the lingering flowery smell of Ginny, stuck to my skin, like it had followed me down here. Ginny herself was singing. She'd stolen my shower again. The sound of running water overpowered everything else – the racket made by the nearby roads, the next door neighbours, and the drunken individuals stumbling back from the outskirts of the city, until that was all I could hear.

It was getting louder and louder until it didn't even sound like what it should anymore. It was stronger, and so much heavier than what a shower would have been. The air became humid around me, the gentle heat beating down on me in waves. That couldn't be right could it?

Opening one eye cautiously, wondering what the hell I'd done wrong; I was hit with a sight that certainly was not the rune that had been on the wall before. I blinked. Hard. It was still there. Standing up and stumbling back, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the spring I'd found myself sat in front of. There was a ridiculously tall, and wide waterfall dropping water down from the edge of a cliff that seemed to reach the sky itself. The sky was bright blue, the sun high in the sky despite it being about 7 at night. Taking another couple of steps back, something sharp hit my back.

Turning around and regretting leaving my wand behind, I found a Stag standing right behind me. I was stumbling back again. "Dad?" I breathed, questioningly, my eyes darting across the dense forest ahead.

It stood back, and turned to walk away. I couldn't move. What the hell was this? Sirius said I'd 'just know' if I'd done it right but to be quite frank I had no idea what the hell was going on. This couldn't be right… I had no idea what I'd been expecting in the first place, but this was something else completely…

There was a rustle in amongst the trees and a twig snapped loudly, cracking through my overly sensitive ears. Now that I'd opened myself up to everything nothing was where it should be, I could hear everything, and I had no perception of where anything was coming from, how far away it was. But I didn't need my ears to see the lioness flying out of the trees. She growled in a low, angry tone, stalking towards the stag – Prongs.

I wanted to say something but I couldn't open my mouth, I was completely frozen to watch as the lioness leapt forward. I'd expected her to jump the Stag, but she didn't, instead landing on something much smaller, and much redder than Prongs. It'd been hiding just behind him. Holding it down and growling low in it's ear, I realised it was her cub – she was telling it off, no doubt. Taking it by the scruff of the neck, she carried it over to Prongs. She looked up, and her green eyes caught mine. I finally noted the bright red colour of the tip of her tail and the slightly darker tone of the rest of her fur and realised that it was my mum. As far as I knew, she was never an Animagus, but if she had ever intended upon being one, that was no doubt what she'd have been.

Letting the cub go, she lay down on the grass with a small roar at the stag, who looked slightly affronted, galloping off after the cub, who'd oh so helpfully buggered off around the other side of the spring at the bottom of the waterfall. It was a redish orange, like its mother, but the starting's of its mane where jet back, the same green eyes. I dismissed it as reality right away. There was no way that that was my animal. It didn't feel right. It was also still only a cub, and it didn't have a scar like I did on its forehead…

With a small jolt, I realised that that's what I likely would have been if I hadn't been connected to Voldemort through my scar the day he killed my mother. I had to wonder if a lioness was always my mother's destined form, or if she'd gained it after she sacrificed her life for me.

A deep coldness washed over the small 'world' I'd appeared in, and the sun vanished behind the cliff, the humid weather dimmed until goosebumps shot up my arms and darkness fell. There wasn't a moon, or any stars, but the symbol for Thurisaz was etched into the rich dark blue sky, ripping it apart and shining the same greyish blue light down, casting a dim glow over everything, just enough to see, but not enough to manoeuvre in. I felt like I was being watched, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, causing a violent shudder to rip through me.

The lioness ran over to protect her cub from whatever was watching me. I turned – though it took a lot of effort to make myself face whatever it was head on – and saw something move in amongst the thick trees. It was there, I could feel it. I just didn't know what 'it' was. At first I thought it was Voldemort – even he must have an Animagus form of somesort. But then it turned to face me through the trees. It was completely black, and blended into the darkness, so all I could see was its eyes. Wide, and unmoving, large, deep emerald green eyes bore into mine.

Shocked still, I couldn't move. I wanted to, and I certainly needed to, but I couldn't. It was as if it had hold of me. But it was dark. All of it – right to its core, I could feel the darkness in its heart bleeding out into its surroundings. That was possibly what scared me the most. The fact that it was everything I hoped I'd never become. It looked, and felt, evil.

All of my senses were telling me to get away. This was me. Deep inside, this is what lay in my heart, and in my head. Just… blackness. There was no half way about it, it wasn't half human, half hunter like me, it was everything bad in me, including the gene that made me a vampire by birth embodied into a living thing. There was no way that by becoming it I could control it. It was here, running around free in this darkened plane, waiting for the opportune moment to come out and wreak havoc in the real world, and I was about to let it out.

I had to leave.

Unable to see where I was going entirely, and with no idea how to get out of this world, I turned and ran. I could feel the way the muscles in its back legs tensed and propelled itself out into the open. I could hear every thud of its footsteps as it came after me. But I couldn't bring myself to look back. Its eyes were bad enough, I didn't want to know what it was.

The lion cub, of whom I was now certain was me before Voldemort entered my life, took one look at me coming, and with a gentle nudge by its mother, dived into the spring. It didn't come back up again. She looked the creature behind me, not with fear, but with understanding, and then back to where her cub had disappeared.

Taking the hint, I dived in after it.

* * *

The moment I breached the surface I was opening my eyes with a jolt in the dark room at Grimmauld place. The runes were slowly dimming, and I was soaking wet. The door reappeared and flew open to Sirius and McGonagall, but I could see the other order members not so subtly watching from behind them. There was only about 10 of them, what I assumed where the most trusted and intricate members of the Order of the Phoenix, no doubt the ones Dumbledore ran everything by before going to everything else.

Sirius took one haggard look at my appearance and smiled softly. "That bad?"

"Yes, please don't make me do that again."

Sirius grabbed my hand to help me to my feet. "You're going to have to eventually."

"I take it you went somewhere with water, Harry." Said McGonagall, conveniently having switched to my first name as I took in everybody's worried faces.

"Yeah… what happened – you all look… scared." It was the only way I could think to describe their faces, as Tonks looked ill, while Moody looked pissed off, but then there was Remus, who just looked rather grim. I felt the water evaporate off of me as Sirius cast a drying spell, then shoved my things into my arms and pushed me out of the door.

"Everything went cold." Said Tonks quietly, her hair a sickly green. "The lights went out. It felt… weird. Almost like a Dementor was nearby but… not as soul clenching. It was kinda like when someone tells you a ghost story, and you're so afraid that you can't move, or you watched a scary movie in bed late at night when you were a kid and you couldn't even get up to turn a light on because your so terrified even though you know its irrational because it's not real. It's a constant feeling of just… terror." She shuddered and her hair went silver.

I couldn't look any of them in the eye. It was that thing inside me that had done it to them, I knew, and it wasn't even in this world yet.

_

* * *

_

_A/N: **1 - **_The Prince Charming_ thing - couldnt fucking help myself. It came out in 1981 - so yes I can get away with that =P_

_**2 -** Harry went a bit funny when Sirius said 'your such a freak, why cant you just be normal' cause… well, you ever suddenly felt really down, sad or angry when someones said something and you had no idea why? Generally it's because its reminding you of something from when you were younger, you just don't know exactly what it was, so all you feel is the strong emotion – Harry was remembering his relatives, had how they used to get at him for not being normal, and calling him a freak – if you didn't catch that. Clearly he remembered it though, he just didnt tell Sirius._

**Also, I haven't read this through, but its half past 2 in the morning, this is almost 12, 300 words long, and I want to sleep, so I'll edit in the morning or something.**

_**3 - **If the symbols of the runes didn't show up because of fanfiction being a dick – then I'm sorry. If you want more information on those runes, google ancient runes, and the top link is where I got all my info… cause I knew fuck all about ancient runes until today… it's called sunnyway(dot)com or something… uhm… there was shizz I had to say... =/ Oh! Yeah, this story is officially going to be 28 chapters long =D I'm going to try and write and post them all before the end of my summer holidays, because I'm starting Sixth Form in September which is… A/AS Levels and stuff so… Oh, two of my subjects are Art Graphics and ICT – see how difficult I made it for myself? I'm actually going to die in the first month._

_Uhm…_

**Next chapter 'Darkness': **While Ginny continues to have serious migraines for pretty much no reason whatsoever – Harry has a particularly vivid nightmare, and Harry's Animagus is revealed =D

_If fanfiction lets the following thing appear then I will forgive it for not allowing the heart last time:_

あるところはどこでも、あなたについて考える


	18. Darkness

Quote: 'If you have sex with a prostitute without permission, is it rape… or shoplifting?' –Sickipedia, fucking yes, I have a vile sense of humour that is quintessentially British, and the needs for this can only be appeased by Sickipedia, or the likes of Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr.

Also, I noticed I didn't do a quote last chapter, here's another:

Quote 2: FUCK! THIS! SHIT!' James Corden in Lesbian Vampire Killers.

* * *

**Blood and Chocolate**

Chapter Eighteen: Darkness

_

* * *

_

**_Ginny's POV_**

_The wind blasting around from all directions brought me to my knees. I was at the top of a pedestal made of rock, countless others stretched out ahead of me, mountains off to the side that surpassed them. Water was coming in fast down below me, but I was trapped up here alone anyway. _

_While the wind continued to knock me sideways, something heavier was pushing down from above, to the point where I was on my hands and knees, forced to look out to the sheer drop down to the rising water. My arms began to shake with the effort of keeping me up. The sun was slowly becoming submerged by clouds, a thick fog descending down from the heavens to surround me. _

_I couldn't breathe._

"_Ginny Weasley." I just about managed to turn my head, seeing Professor Willis standing there in his robes holding the school emblem, held up by the clasp that held the symbol of the phoenix. He shook his head in what appeared to be disappointment. "What are we going to do with you?" _

_Confused, I could only watch as a stream of fog descended down faster, turning a deep black as it swirled down to the ground where it bore Saiph Cappella. All I could see was the rock in front of me, and the fog surrounding me, and then those two men stood at opposing sides of the stone pillar I was stuck on. _

_The vampire smiled at me sweetly. "Come with me, Ginny. You'll be _safe_, with me. I'll look after you." _

"_No!" I cried out as my arms gave way, leaving me lying pretty much flat against the cold stone. The entity pushing down on my back kept forcing me into the ground to the point that I could feel my ribs starting to strain. _

_I tried to push myself back up, but I was too weak. _

_The professor was in front of me all of a sudden, hand outstretched to help me up. I went to grab it when I head started to hurt, pressure building up around the inside of my skull, forcing it outwards. Closing my eyes tightly, I retracted my hand, unable to do much else as my eyes watered, and my head throbbed. _

_I was gasping for breath when Saiph went to stand over me with a scowl, the professor gone. He crouched down and touched my hair. "Don't make me make you, Ginerva." He grabbed a fistful of my hair and twisted his hand around it, pulling my head back. Lashing out, trying to get away, I felt my hand heat up, the burn on the back of my hand glowing blue as a stream of fire shot out across the offending vampire's arms. _

_I couldn't see his face as he shouted something at me and staggered to his feet, my eyes closed with pain, still too weak to stand. But then someone was pulling me to my feet, and I was whirled around away from him. Harry threw his hand through the stream of fire, allowing it to swirl around his arm until he'd thrown it back toward Saiph in a growing barrier._

_He looked down at me with those bright green eyes marred by cat like slits going down the middle. He smiled down at me surreally. _

I was only vaguely aware of Harry's hand sliding down my waist as I sat up slowly, a confused frown permanently etched into my features. It hadn't been a nightmare. Not really. It was more or less the normal kind of dream for my standards, if the ones I'd been having lately had any say in the matter. But it had been exceptionally odd. Not particularly scary, just… odd.

Sitting up straight with my legs out of the bed I turned to watch Harry roll onto his back, still fast asleep. The entire room was ice cold, wind howling outside as it threw rain in through the open doors. There was a particularly vicious rumble of thunder as I stood to close it, lightening blinding me as I forced them shut and leant my forehead on the glass doors. One day, I will have a goodnights sleep, with no interruptions, and a day not marred with worry, or anger, guilt or grief. And when it happens – I'll have a bloody party.

* * *

The sun being the culprit of being rudely awoken for the second time that morning, I woefully dragged myself out of bed. I'd have to get back to school for breakfast or I'd most likely end up in some sort of trouble. Having wrapped myself up in a spare blanket after I'd woken up the night before, I flung it off across Harry and fell unceremoniously off the edge of the bed to my feet, knocking a couple of things off of the side table. A notebook and a piece of paper with the words 'I wouldn't' scrawled in a curly script. Definitely not Harrys handwriting.

Harry himself was just sitting up, looking confused. "Weird dream?" I asked. He nodded. "Me too." He held his hand out for me to high-five. "What's this?" I asked, allowing him to pull me back onto the bed by the waist, landing conveniently by his side. I handed him the note and waited as he worked through his sleep addled brain for the answer.

"It's that note, from Lucy."

"…Are you sure? See when you said 'note' I assumed she'd actually written something that made sense, you know, maybe a haiku…" I took it back, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes, too tired to retort properly. "No, seriously, I don't get it, what the hell's she on?"

"She was half way through changing. She had all the power in the world, had the chance to get her own back on me, and quench the blood lust at the same time. But she didn't."

"So?"

"So… I had the chance to kill her, or leave, but I was too weak to leave, I hurt her. She was proving a point. She could have done it, but she didn't, because she wouldn't ever hurt anyone. She was proving that she's better than me."

I was silent for a full 30 seconds before I slammed the note back on the side. "You have retarded friends, next time you see her tell her to just say these things out loud."

He shook his head, still half asleep, sliding his arm out from underneath my neck and down to my waist, dropping his head onto my stomach. "What time is it?"

"One o'clock." Sirius knocked the side of his boot against the open doorframe, making himself known. "Comfy?"

Harry groaned into my stomach. "Quit sneaking up on my while I'm tired."

"No! It's the only time I can, and I intend to take advantage. That and you're with Ginny, for whatever reason that helps."

Harry let me go and sat up against the cold wall behind his bed, scowling at his godfather. "What do you want?"

"What I want, is for you to go back into that room. We need to know what we're dealing with."

He pretended that Sirius hadn't spoken at all for a short while as he got up and disappeared into the bathroom with some fresh clothes. "No."

"Please, Harry. Knowing what we're working with is hardly going to let it loose. It can't be that bad!''

I watched Harry look over at Sirius with a dark expression on his face as he appeared back in the doorway, pulling his shirt over his head. "You felt it, Sirius - that feeling of darkness and despair. They all did. And that was through two different realms. Imagine what it felt like to be stood directly in front of it, being the reason why it's there. That things waiting inside me Sirius, it's not anybody else's... I just can't.''

Sirius looked to me for help, desperately. I took his hand, but couldn't quite think of a solution. "Harry... I-" pausing for inspiration, a thought struck me. "Sirius, does he have to go alone?"

Sirius hesitated, torn. "Well... Sort of. It's kind of complicated. It's safer to go alone, but it is possible to go with somebody else who is also learning to be an Animagus, or has already achieved state. Each person's mind is different. I went to this big, grassy field every time I let the runes take me, surrounded by trees. But James always went to a clearing in the Forbidden Forest... Its two different people's minds entwined in one, and you can't mix the two up. You basically have to choose who's doing the leading, and they take you to their world. If you separate into your own at any point, neither of them will wake up. It's a dangerous process."

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "Well then, it's worth a try!" squeezing Harry's hand, I made him pull me to my feet.

"Ginny, what're we-?"

"You have to have runes." interrupted Sirius. "You can't travel into the other realm without them."

"I've already got them." I confessed sheepishly. "Sort of by accident - we'll explain once we get out."

"And you need to know how to meditate." he added, panic starting to settle into his voice as we got nearer the door to the old drawing room.

"Harry didn't know how to meditate when he first started. He can just pull me in, it's fine."

I pushed Harry through the door, turning around to face Sirius. "It'll be fine, don't worry, you can even sit outside the door if you like, we won't be long."

Sirius looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was about. "You're not here as it is! If something goes wrong-"

"Nothing'll go wrong." I countered. "We'll be right out."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, looking everything like a weary parent, he looked to Harry over my shoulder. "Don't let any of her runes interfere with Isa, put her fifth parallel on the floor."

He nodded in understanding. "See you in a bit, Sirius."

After the door was closed, I caught Harry pulling his shirt over his head. "What are you doing?"

"The exit process is kinda messy."

Deciding I didn't want to know, I smirked over at him as he raised his wand. "Does that mean I have to take my shirt off too?" I joked.

I saw the corner of his lips turn upwards slightly from where he stood facing away from me, pointing his wand at the wall. "Just get your wand out, Ginny."

I did as I was told, coming to stand beside him. "What do I have to do?"

"Burn your runes into the walls, beside mine, on the same side on each wall. The final one needs to go on the floor, parallel to Isa, if you put it beside it, it'll get in the way and cause a disruption." he explained. "Just follow my lead."

I watched him carefully carve each of his runes into the four walls, beside the old ones from the day before, placing mine where he told me to. Berkano with Uruz, Kenaz with Tiwaz, Ansuz with Hagalaz and Eithwaze with Thurisaz. He took a deep breath, pointing his wand at the ceiling. "Okay, this last one needs to happen together."

Standing at his side, I slowly burned the outline of Sowilo on the floor under my feet, pausing only once, briefly, to look up as Harrys Mark began to glow a dim blue, mine slowly starting to shine a deep red in its wake.

As we stood back to watch, the blue from Isa fell into Harrys other runes, and the red into mine, where they met in the middle to create a soft, slightly pink glow around the room. Each of Harrys flashed a cold, grey-ish blue, while mine a deep, rich red, once before the pink settled into a bare lilac around the middle of the room.

It looked like the room was filled with a thin mist. "Put your wand over there." He said, sitting down on one side of my mark. "You can't use magic in here."

Throwing it down with his, I took his lead and sat down opposite him, on the other side of the mark. He took my hands. "You look so serious."

He smiled. "Sorry. I just don't know if I can go back there."

"Of course you can!" I slid my hands out of his, moving them to his neck. "Whatever that animal is - it's a part of you. You understand the way it works. There's nothing to be afraid of - it can't hurt you."

"It can hurt you." he said softly.

"I don't care about me."

"I do." he said. "I could feel it, while I was there, what it wanted. It's a hunter, Ginny; it won't distinguish between its prey, and someone I care about."

I smiled, my heart was beating far too fast and I was sure that he could hear it. He knew I was afraid, even if I wouldn't admit it. "If he's the hunter - then that makes you the human." I said, leaning forward to kiss him. Courage, if nothing else.

"I can't imagine you ever hurting me. And I can't see that animal being that bad. I-" don't say that. Re-routing my train of thought, I tried again. "I trust you. That animal is nothing more than a reflection of yourself. You know it better than it does. It can be tamed, and I believe that you can do it. I-" he took both my hands from his shoulders and pushed me back into the floor. I could feel the groves of the burned rune digging into my back through my blouse.

"You talk too much." he said. "But thank you." he added, so quietly that I probably wouldn't have heard him were it not for the fact that we were pretty much already kissing as it was.

I felt my eyes flutter closed against the bright, abrasive light shining from Isa, both my hands coming up to Harrys hair as we kissed under the watchful eyes of the ten runes we had chosen. I barely took notice of the way that the light from the rune above us seemed to gain intensity, burning through my eyelids, giving off a strange amount of heat. There was a loud rushing sound in the background but I barely took notice of it. At least, not until Harry pulled back suddenly, hovering over me. "Harry!" I wined. "We can do the animagus thing later."

"Open your eyes." I could hear the mirth in his voice, his hands shifting slightly on the ground either side of my head. It sounded odd...

Opening them, I was met with the smug face of Harry Potter, and a sun beaming down through his hair, making the tips of it glow gold in the light. The sky was blue, and the rushing sound nearby was definitely falling water. "Whoa..."

Both my hands dropped to my side and hit something soft. Grass. He watched my stunned face for a few seconds before kissing me again, shortly, before pulling me to my feet. I swayed unsteadily as I got myself orientated, feeling slightly nauseous at the change of scenery. He held onto me for a few short seconds until I was steady, then turned around to look at the spring, waiting for something. There was no one, or rather _nothing_, around. There was a large forest off ahead, and mountains in the distance, the small lake behind me, with the waterfall going down into it…

The sky was a shade of blue I was sure I'd never seen before, the sun now hidden slightly by the waterfall. Sunset? I couldn't be sure, as the sky wasn't dimming, but I could see the faint outline of one of Harry's runes carved into the atmosphere, I had to wonder if the others where about somewhere…

"What are you looking for?"

"My mum and dad. They were here last time." He turned around to face me, at the same time that I walked over to embrace him.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere."

He didn't reply, instead staring out into the forest. "She wasn't afraid." He said, finally, watching one particular spot behind me.

"Who? You're mum?"

"Yeah. When I first saw it, she wasn't afraid of him."

"Well of course she wasn't, she's your mum!"

He went quiet again, and I let him go, shuddering as a sudden gust of cold washed over me in the weirdly tropical weather. "So what are we looking for? How do you get it to come out?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I was just sort of watching last time, and then it came out of nowhere. I'd assume it'll come out when it wants to."

I wrapped my arms around myself against the sudden drop in temperature. Was it getting dark? "Harry-"

He shushed me, grabbing my arm to pull me behind him. "Look up at the sky."

As it got darker, the sky began to glow with a foreign pale blue light, the source, not the moon, but that rune. It'd become stronger in the sky, slowly ripping apart until it was one big, bright , opening in the atmosphere. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I looked back over at him for an explanation, but he was too busy staring at that same spot behind me. It felt like something was watching me, but I didn't want to look, and I didn't, not until a twig snapped and I jumped, turning to see what had to be the biggest cat I've ever seen.

It was huge, taller than the trees. Harry had frozen beside me, and I could see why. This was him. And it looked terrifying.

It was completely black, small, unintelligible dark grey markings scattering its back, its claws dug into the ground, casting up a lot of dirt. The ridges of its spine where spiked, like a Hungarian horntail, its jaw slightly more angular than it should be. Its bright green eyes glowered down on us like twin moons, glaring.

I backed up slightly and it braced its legs, lowering its head in a low growl, baring its razor sharp teeth. Something brushed against my leg and I yelped. Harry looked down out of the corner of his eyes and managed a small smile before looking back at the cat standing up ahead, waiting.

It was just a dog. Sirius. He sat down and swished his tail behind him, looking far too happy. Another dog, a chocolate brown Labrador, came to sit beside him, but I had no idea who she was. They both looked up at me expectantly, then towards Harrys animagus. I didn't understand. "What-"

The cat furrowed its grey eyebrows, lowering its head slightly like a dog that had done something wrong. I had no idea why that made me understand, but it did. "Thank you." I ruffled the fur on Sirius' head, and made my way calmly over to the cat.

Harry went to grab my arm to stop me, but I just sped up, he couldn't move from where he was standing. Each of its legs where only just taller than me, but it was still somehow slender, even in its size. It looked down at me, crouching slightly and lowering its head to my level. I wasn't afraid, but the size on its head alone was slightly overwhelming. I smiled, placing my hand on the bridge of its nose.

"It's okay." I said. "It's not your fault." It nudged me with the tip of its nose, almost nocking me over, making me giggle unexpectedly. The sky lightened slightly, but not by a lot, and it began to shrink beneath my fingertips.

It kept on going until it stood to about my lower ribs, its coat lightening, and the marks becoming more defined stripes. The spikes going down it's back disappeared into its spine, and it sat down in front of me. Harry snuck up on me, grabbing me around the middle. "How did you do that?"

"It looked angry, and sad… Then it did that thing with its head and I realised. It knows what you did to Lucy." I went to touch the cat and it met my hand, allowing me to scratch behind it's ears. "It knows that it was his fault that you did what you did. I guess it just felt bad, guilty, even."

Harry sighed with relief, looking up at the still black sky. "So it's just a tiger?"

I grinned. "Yeah. A Maltese one, by the looks of it. You know they aren't supposed to exist? There are variations in the colouring every now and again, but there's no evidence of a dark grey one with black stripes. I take it you're glad it's not really a monster, then?"

"Yeah. I still feel cold though."

There was a flash of red, running too fast for me to see, disappearing off into the forest, I watched it go with interest until the tiger leapt up and ran after it. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah."

"Properly, I mean, could you see what it was?"

He smiled, kissing my shoulder. "What do you think it was?"

My heart stopped for a second. "Me?"

He squeezed me gently and tilted his head up to the sky, where one of my runes had appeared next to Harrys, brighter than his, making the entire place a sickening shade of pink. "What… what am I?"

He squeezed me tighter, then let me go. "We should leave. The time difference is massive, we could have been gone hours."

I glared at the back of his head for a while, turning to follow Harry's animagus into the woods. Only, the closer I got to the trees, the less real they looked, right up until the point of them disappearing completely, a small opening in the forest seemingly leading to… sand. Miles of it stretching out in front of me, heat like I'd never felt before blasting out through the small tare in Harry's little universe.

There was a slender fox sat meters from me, while Harrys Animagus was being knocked down the back of a sand dune by that same flash of red. The fox flicked its head behind her, leading me in. I was about to step over the divide of grass and sand when a set of paws hit my stomach and I was knocked backwards. Sirius. The dog growled at me angrily, standing in my path. His words from earlier came to me one more and I realised what I'd been about to do.

"Sorry." I smiled at the dog weakly, turning to leave.

Harry was standing by the spring, talking to the chocolate brown Labrador. It barked at him and jumped up to lick his face. "Made a new friend?"

He looked over his shoulder at me with a small smile. "It's Mary."

"She's an animagus?" I joined him in standing at the water's edge.

"I don't think so. You don't have to be an animagus for you to be seen as one, if that makes any sense."

I looked over my shoulder at where my desert was slowly consuming Harry's forest, catching up with me. The fox was still standing there. "Yeah, it does." I took his hand. "How do we leave?"

"Just… jump." He tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me into the water.

For a matter of seconds I was completely consumed by a completely translucent mass of water, and Harry was dragging me to the bottom. The stones became distorted as we got closer. Just as I was about to run out of air, I landed back in the empty room at Grimmauld Place, completely drenched through and gasping for breath. I was still on my back, Harry hovering over me with a look of concern. "Alright?"

"Yeah." I gasped, sitting up slightly.

The moment I had the strength to, I knocked Harry onto his back, away from the rune and lay down beside him, exhausted, though I had done nothing. "See, it wasn't so bad."

He shook his head. "No, maybe not. But I'm surprised – a tiger?"

I grinned. "What did you expect, Mr Potter? A flying dragon?"

"No… just… not a tiger."

I hummed. "Don't lie. You wanted a magical creature." I rolled onto my side, facing him. "You're disappointed that you're animals quite plain."

He frowned at me. "Hardly plain, Ginny, it's a tiger."

Laughing, I gathered my wet hair up and threw it over my shoulder, out of my face. "You're ridiculous." I told him, kissing him briefly after he'd pulled me on top of him lazily. "Can you dry me, please?"

He shook his head again. "No, sorry, you can't use magic in here, it messes shit up."

I pursed my lips. "Then how do we get out?" I asked, running my fingers through his damp hair, barely noticing as it dried between my fingertips.

"I don't know. The door automatically reappeared when I was done last time."

"Maybe you're not done." I said, smirking at him.

He didn't comment, busy pulling the front of my shirt away from where it was stuck to my skin and watching as it sank back. "Did you run into your world at any point?" he asked finally.

"Yeah, it's a desert. Scarlet was in it. She's a fox."

"How did you know it was her?" He asked, pausing in what he was doing.

"Same way you knew that that dog was Mary. You just know."

Minutes went by after that where the door still didn't reappear and my fingertips started to go wrinkly. "How much longer do you think we've got to wait?"

"No idea. Why? Bored already?"

"Yes." I said, leaning forward so I was lying across him properly. "Entertain me."

"Sirius is probably outside." He said, despite the fact that both his hands hand already fallen to my hips.

"Oh like you actually care." I groused, pushing him down so he wasn't holding himself up on his elbows anymore and kissing him.

Everything was going fine, amazingly, actually, until Harry hooked one leg around mine and rolled me onto my back. I'd been safe to lie across the old rune for all of 3 seconds before it glowed bright red again and encased us both in scarlet light. A sharp pain hit the back of my neck, the distinct feeling of something dragging a knife through my skin trickled down my spine and resonated in my lower back, then twisted, agonisingly.

A loud cry of pain left my lips and I was powerless to do anything but give Harry a gentle shove backwards before I went still, unable to move for the pain as my fingers slid into the small pool of blood forming at my side.

"Ginny!"

* * *

_**Harry's POV**_

The door reappeared seconds after she'd cried out in pain. She was gasping for a breath she couldn't catch, trying to push herself into a sitting position. Without even thinking about it, I stood and pulled her gently to her feet, the thick stench of blood filling my senses as she fell forward into me. Pushing the feeling of dread rising up in me as my throat began to burn down, I held her at arm's length. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Harry, my back!"

Turning her around gently, I found a large patch of blood seeping its way up and across her white blouse. "Gin….?"

"Yeah?"

"You're bleeding a little bit…"

She laughed, her voice sounding harsh as she shook. "Really? How bad is it?"

I lifted her shirt up to where it started and winced. "Quite bad…"There was a distinct shape forming in her lower back, over her right hip. Ignoring the blood coating my hands I looked around for something to stem the bleeding. "Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"You might have to take your shirt off after all." I crossed the room to grab mine off of the floor.

"...Why? Mines dry and yours is covered in blood, just trust me." She did as she was told, handing it to me in exchange for my dry one.

She held it up over her front as I used hers to clear hold over the cut. She hissed in pain.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Sirius was standing in the doorway again. "We don't know, Sirius, will you heal this for her, please?"

He looked at my blood covered hands anxiously. "Are you alright, mate?" He asked first, walking over to take her shirt from me.

"I'm fine." I swallowed, taking a step back now that I could. "Just… help her, please."

He tried to dab away the majority of the blood so he could see what was underneath, only to see an oddly shaped cut underneath. He sighed. "Put that shirt on and come out here so I can heal it properly."

I could see in the way she was walking just how fragile she was. Her entire body folding in on itself. As Sirius left her into the kitchen he wouldn't let her sit down, needing to bandage up the open wound. Albus Dumbledore was sat with two hooded figures over in the corner of the kitchen. He didn't look at all surprised when Ginny appeared in his presence, pausing only to sip his tea before smiling at her kindly.

"You're looking rather ill, Miss Weasley, are you quite alright?"

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak as she leant forward over the kitchen counter, bracing her hands at the edge and keeping the rest of her body at arm's length. She bowed her head and went rather pale.

"Does it still hurt?" I asked softly, drawing her hair back, away from her perspiring face.

She closed her eyes. "It's burning, like it's been cut right through me."

Sirius was rummaging through the cupboards for some bandages as he turned and rubbed her back comfortingly. "You'll be alright, love. It does look deep, I'm not surprised."

He looked at me expectantly, motioning to Ginny. I could see the blood seeping down into her jeans. He arms were shuddering slightly, and I could see her knuckles going white with the strain of holding herself up. Taking her hand, I manoeuvred into a position standing in front of her, pulling her forward. She automatically leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. She slid her fingers into the hair at the base of my neck and clenched her hand through it.

Sirius motioned to where the slowly appearing cut was and I hiked my shirt up to her waist, revealing the bloodied mess that was her right hip. Sirius visibly winced, scourgifying the blood from the surrounding skin. "Remus have we got any potions to ease the pain?"

"I'll have a look."

As Remus stood, so did the headmaster, pulling out a chair behind Sirius. "How did this happen?"

"I… Ginny went with me, doing that animagus thing. One of her runes was on the floor, so when we came out, the point that it touched her must have done something. It was glowing, then she started bleeding…"

Dumbledore nodded slowly, but didn't comment on what had happened so much as what was happening. "It's still going." He said.

I looked down over her shoulder and watched with horror as a shapeless line was continuously being carved into her raw skin. There was a violent curve in the shape and Ginny flinched, digging her nails into the back of my neck.

"Sorry!" She gasped.

I held her tighter as she eased her grip. Remus handed a potion to Sirius, who passed it to me. "Get her to drink this; I'm going to clean this up. It's going to have to heal the muggle way, I don't know when it's going to stop, and I daren't heal what it's already done."

"I can't. I'll throw it back up again." She swallowed hard, pushing herself upright."

"Miss Weasley, I suggest you take it with a glass of water – that pain isn't going to stop anytime soon." Dumbledore stood and crossed the room to get her a glass.

She went a little green when faced with the headmaster of Hogwarts School handing her a glass of water, watching her as she took it expectantly.

"It has to get worse before it gets better." He reminded her.

She took a deep breath and threw the contents of the phial to the back of her throat, quickly downing the water. Dumbledore nodded at her and took his =seat across the room once more. All the colour left Ginny's face for a few moments before her cheeks flushed rapidly as the potion started to take effect.

"Better?"

"No, now I feel sick." She complained as Sirius started to lather a green paste across the growing wound on her hip.

She winced. "Sorry." Sirius apologised. "The pain potion will take a couple of minutes to take effect. Then you won't feel a thing. You'll get tired though."

It was around about then that I realised it was dark again outside, the time difference between the two realms was quite devastating.

She nodded, holding up my shirt as he finished up and began to cover and bandage it up. "I'll check on it again in the morning. You should get some rest."

Ginny pulled the shirt back down and folded her arms, looking at Dumbledore apprehensively. It took him a few seconds to realise that everyone was looking at him. "Ah! I'm sure I don't want to know how you got here, Miss Weasley?"

"No, professor."

He nodded. "Given everything that's happened since you've come back to school, and the recent events, l'd like to keep you here for observation until Wednesday. I will get the message to your friends that you are in the hospital wing. For now, you should get some rest, and I will expect to see you back Wednesday morning, in the hospital wing, where poppy can see if there are any changes. You'll need to tell her everything; otherwise I will have to concede to take you to saint mungoes."

"Of course, sir. Thanks, Sirius." He smiled.

I ruffled my hair. "I'm gonna make sure she gets up there okay."

"Put a shirt on while you're at it." Said Sirius, pointing at my bare chest, smirking.

Before I could retort, Dumbledore interrupted. "DO hurry, harry, I need to talk to you before everybody arrives for the meeting."

Deciding not to duel on that thought, I followed Ginny upstairs. I could only hope that it wasn't something horrendous. Though, if it involved me, and concerned albus Dumbledore, it was severely likely that it was something life threatening. Ginny paused on the3rd floor, frowning.

"Alright?"

She nodded slowly, before smiling at me weakly and turning to go up the last flight of stairs.

"You know I think I might steal your bed again."

"Any particular reason?"

"Safer." She admitted sheepishly. "I have fewer nightmares when someone's with me. I'd ask you if you mind, but you've got no choice in the matter."

I grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way." She lay back across my bed, closing her eyes.

"You want a blanket?"

"No. Too hot." She murmured shortly.

She did look warm, slightly flushed. I grabbed a random shirt and tugged it over head. "I'm going to go see what Professor Dumbledore wants… I'll ask him about that rune."

"Thinks don't seem to be going well for me lately do they?"

"No… I'll figure it out, Ginny, I promise."

* * *

"What was it that you wanted to see me about, Sir?"

"Harry, sit down." He motioned to the seat between Sirius and Remus. "I do believe it's time for you to join the Order."

I stared at him for a good few seconds. "I-what?"

"Not officially. You'll be attending a few of the more important meetings though. You deserve to hear what is going on with the war more than most and for that reason, I have given in to Sirius' requests to allow you in."

I couldn't think what to say, what was this supposed to mean? Sirius nudged me and grinned. I shook my head. "Sir, about Ginny-"

"What about her?"

"The…. Things that have been happening to her. She wants to know about why my magic marked her – why she burned Greg. You know something and your not telling her. Then today… that rune carved something into her back-"

"Not 'something', Harry, itself. It transferred itself onto her skin. Do you remember which rune it was?

"Sowilo."

"And you understand it's meaning?"

"Something to do with the sun…"

He nodded. "The sun is a great source of energy, Harry. And she's going to need it. You notice how tired she is? The heat, the sparks of energy between you and that mark?"

"How did you-?"

"Think about it, Harry. You're a cleaver young lad. I cannot tell you everything, you know that." He looked down over the tops of his half-moon glasses and sighed. "She's getting ready, subconsciously."

"What for?"

"A lot of things. Your friend, Miss Granger, is a smart young woman, Harry; she's worked some of it out. Help her with the rest – and then you'll know what to do."

Mr and Mrs Weasley bustled into the kitchen with their eldest sons. She smiled brightly over at me. "Hello, Harry, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks…" More order members arrived behind them, forcing them to sit down.

As the rest of the Order arrived and got themselves seated, and I didn't leave, Mrs Weasley began to look restless. She kept glaring at Sirius, who smiled back all too happily.

Dumbledore stood to address the rest of the group. "As you know, I've been running a lot through the closer knit members of the Organisation, mostly the arrival of two new members. Last night we decided fully on deeming them trustworthy, those two, obviously being these two wonderful fellows beside me, but before I get to that. I'm sure you're all wondering about, Harry, over there."

Mrs Weasley continued to scowl.

"As most of you are aware, Sirius has been trying to convince me to allow Harry into our ranks, just to know what was going on, and I have finally conceded. The decision is mine to make, I don't want to hear anyone speaking against it. He has more right to be here than a lot of you do put together." He looked over at Mrs Weasley seriously, warning her against saying anything otherwise.

When no one spoke, he motioned for the two hooded figures to drop their hoods. "I'd like to introduce you to Adora and William Black, distant cousins of Sirius…"

"They're not your cousins are they?" I whispered, leaning over to my godfather.

He shook his head, sliding down in his seat slightly to respond. "No, Dumbledore's concealed their identities. He won't tell me who they are."

"They have recently… come to my attention. Had I known of them, I suppose I would have asked them to come forward sooner." He looked almost angry, looking at the two out of the corner of his eye. The one on the right turned their head away in what I assumed was shame, the second taking her hand and pulling her towards him. She had mid-length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, her face freckle-less and olive toned, standing at around 5' 4''. The man beside her was almost a full foot taller than her at 6' 3'', thick wavy brown hair and plae green eyes. They were both subdued, looking like they'd rather not be there, nervous and unsure.

"But, alas, that cannot be changed now. Mistakes are mistakes, and they're in the past, where they should stay." I couldn't help but think he was both berating, and warning them to leave, now, before they were permanently involved. He waited for a second, giving them a chance to speak up, then sighed, continuing. "They are going to help in the ways of the protection of Hogwarts. As you all know, there with be both Ministry officials, and a few of you, patrolling the grounds. They are going to join your ranks."

Dumbledore sighed, ordering his face into its normal serene, calm complacent state. I hadn't seen him act like this before…

* * *

_Ginny was standing by the swings in the park in Little Whinning. Her laughter rang in my ears, surrounding my senses. She looked like she did before everything started to go wrong, that permanent crease between her eyes non-existent, no longer worried about what was going to happen next. _

"_Harry come on!" Dudley was actually on the swings behind her, with a much younger looking Aunt Petunia. She couldn't have been much older than Dudley himself, perhaps younger. She looked so happy, less severe. Walking around to face her properly, a young girl with bright red hair came running by, bright green eyes shining brilliantly. _

"_Tuney! Tuney, it's my turn now!"_

_She was that small girl from the photos that littered number 4. Every now and again she'd be the focus of the photos, with that younger Petunia. I'd asked who she was long before it became a common rule not to ask questions and I hadn't got an answer. But it seemed so clear now, and I couldn't believe that I hadn't realised who she was before now. My mum. My mother, at no older than seven years old. _

_I whirled around as another small child, with the same green eyes and red hair went hurtling past, though she couldn't have been much younger than two. She was running right at the blonde woman and her dad – the family from the park…_

_Dreading who else was to appear in this ridiculous vision, I turned towards the trees; a blood covered Lucy standing at the very edge. Her arms were at her sides, her blonde hair ruined, half knotted and half drenched in her own blood, her clothes torn and her eyes glassy. Then she laughed. _

_But it wasn't her. It didn't even sound like a woman, or human, for that matter. The sun flashed up above me, and in looking up I was forced to watch as the sun was replaced by Isa, and blackness bled out from the line it made in the sky, trickling down into my surroundings and washing away my subconscious. Long fingers of black liquid slowly stretched down from the heavens and into the trees, consuming them and everything else in its path. Everyone was gone; all that was left was that inhuman laughter ringing in my ears. _

_It was the same as before, when I had died, and appeared in that world where everything was devoid of anything and everything good; there was nothing but hate, anguish and remorse. It was like every circle of hell wrapped into one, but hidden completely from sight. _

_The laughing redoubled, not just one voice this time. They were getting closer, and closer, and the sound of those voices rode underneath it, screams and cries of those unable to voice their pain carrying out through the darkness. _

_Then something hit me in the chest, hard, knocking me back onto the floor. _

"_You will be mine, Harry Potter."_

_

* * *

A/N: I liked Harrys 'dream' better than Ginny's, Ginny's was supposed to be of the same quality as Harry's… but I was depressed when I wrote Ginny's, so it was forced, and awful. It took me longer to write this than I intended, obviously, but I'm back on track now, I should be updating every few days to keep up with the whole 'finishing this story before the end of my summer holidays' thing… Uhm. The new people are Vampires, by the way. And I'm sorry for all the new questions I've opened up, but a lot of them will be answered next chapter, promise. Feel free to keep guessing the answers to things now that you know more, I'm happy to hear your ideas on these things =D_

**Next Chapter: **'Chocolate' – Hermione and Ginny reach a few conclusions. Harry's still battling the darkness waiting for him in his dreams, while Ginny's headaches/fainting spells start up again now that she's back at school. There's a surprise visitor at Hogwarts, and Harry gets a better grip on his anigmgus form =]


	19. INTERLUDE: Traitor

**Blood and Chocolate**

_Chapter Nineteen: INTERLUDE: Traitor_

"There is a traitor in our midst."

Albus Dumbledore's face was stoic, not giving anything away. The twelve most well trusted members of the Order of the Phoenix looked him in the eye unflinchingly. It was a serious matter. Even the smallest slip of the tongue could lead to Voldemort finding out about Harrys condition. Never mind what would happen if it ended up in the papers. There was no telling how people would react.

Adora and William stood, as they always did during Order meetings, at the back of the room. They never contributed, more or less acting as casual observers. Neither of them moved, just waiting for the meeting to end, where they still would refuse to slacken their stance until everyone had left.

Alastor Moody's magical eye swivelled around to Mary where she sat nervously between Sirius and Remus. She was scared for Harry, and worried that, as a new comer, they'd think it was her.

"As you all know, I have a double agent situated in Voldemort's ranks." He continued. "I have recently received Intel that Voldemort knows of Miss Weasley's current problems, the rune, the fainting. He knows she's weak. And worst of all… he knows we know he wants her. He's going to try harder to get to her, and because we don't know why he wants her, we can't be too sure how far he's willing to go. But he is likely to strike while she's unable to properly defend herself."

He went quiet for a few moments to let it sink in, Mrs Weasleys face paling considerably.

"It has also come to my attention that he knows about Remus' mission." He turned to the man in question. "I know I didn't give you much reason to up and leave suddenly, and it must have been hard to explain yourself and get out of there quickly, but unfortunately I needed to call this meeting as soon as possible, and the faster you got back the safer you were."

Remus nodded once, understanding. He was known in the underground of London as a 'surface walker'. He didn't hide away as they did; only coming out at night. They knew he had an affiliation with Dumbledore, but he was to give away no indication to being on either side of the fight. Vampires and werewolves weren't on any 'sides'. They didn't take commands. If they knew he openly opposed Voldemort and worked for Dumbledore he was likely to be killed.

He turned to the two vampires in the shadows. "I need you two to go down there and see what's going on, if anyone has been informed of who he really is. Of course ideally, we always need someone down there to keep everything under check. If Voldemort ever were to take a few on in his army, we'd be in big trouble."

They both nodded together, once.

"I don't know who it is that betrayed us, but one of you is sitting here with the answer to that question. It's the worst time to cast doubt amongst you, which is why I have only called in a few of you. But I have to say now that if any of you know anything, you need to come forward. You are all under oath to keep these secrets to yourselves. I don't know how you bypassed it, but you did, which is serious magic. You all know fine well that should you so much as try to divulge any of our secrets, you would be muted. Paralyzed. And clearly everybody is still here. I've checked on the other members, their fine. I'm missing something I just can't figure out what it is."

Moody growled, banging his fist on the table. "Surely you don't have to look far! McDonald over there is the newest member we have. She hasn't done the oath! She has free reign to tell anyone she wants!"

Snape sneered. "Do shut up, Moody. As much as I dislike her, even I know she would never speak against the Potters. She's too… nice." He drawled.

Moody ignored him, turning to Mary. "What did you get up to while you were gone, 'ey? Been off to see any dark wizards while you were-"

Sirius looked furious, standing to his feet in outrage. "Don't be stupid, Alastor! She was Lily's best friend. What reason would she have to ever sell out Harry? She loves him more than anything. And to top it off – nobody knows she's back in England yet! Who could she tell? She hasn't left the house as herself since she arrived. She hasn't had to do the oath yet, because she did it once before, remember? It still works; it just needs to be updated."

"That's no excuse! She's been out of our lives for 15 years! Who's to say that Voldemort hasn't already got to her in that time? You don't know what she got up to in all those years!"

"She was an English teacher, in New Zealand, in the Muggle world. She has friends there, and I-"

"Will you be quiet!" Kingsley Shacklebotts deep voice boomed over theirs. "The last thing we need is to turn on each other."

"Be that as it may, someone is the traitor, and it may not be one of us, but there are other members that we're forgetting about. We're only a few. There are so many people to cast doubt upon, and while I don't condone turning on each other… we need to find out what's going on. I don't want to lose my daughter, or Harry for that matter, over this." Arthur Weasley took his wife's hand on the table top, turning to Dumbledore for guidance.

Instead Molly spoke up, softly. "Are you all forgetting, about these two mysterious vampires that we're expected to trust with our lives, and our children, despite the fact that we know nothing about them or where they came from?"

Everybody turned to Adora and William Black.

Dumbledore raised his head. "No. If there are two people in this room that are more concerned about keeping Harry and Ginny safe, and bringing down Voldemort, it is these two. Unfortunately I cannot release any information on where they come from just yet, but –"

"I'm sorry, Albus, but really? I'd lay down my life for Harry. He's my godson. You're asking me to entrust his life into the hands of two people I've never met before in my life. They've never said more than two words to me since they got here, and they spend a lot of time in this house with him." Said Sirius, fighting to keep his voice calm.

Even Dumbledore was starting to sound strained. "I would happily put Harry's life in their hands a million times over. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Until you tell me who they are? No. It means nothing. As much as I trust you, and as much as I will do everything you say without question, Albus… I can't put Harry's life in the hands of two random strangers."

"They're here to help him. To train him, and teach him to control his magic. It's slowly getting out of control, his emotions let his magic run wild, and we can't have that. "

"No offence, professor, but I agree with Sirius. How can you expect us to trust two people who you look at with such hate?" Bill Weasley raised a valid point. "It's like you regret having them here, like they've done something horrible and you can't bear to look at them."

"And yet I need them here to help Harry. I have to put my problems with them aside for him, which is the least of what I can do." He shook his head. "To keep him safe in the past, I have hurt him. This will only bring him happiness, I can promise you that. They're here to help him." He repeated. "They can get him to a stage where he can go back to school, and have a normal life, and that is the best gift I can give Harry now. It's what he deserves."

Mary looked past Dumbledore to the two vampires, watching as they moved for the first time in her memory. It was so simple, and yet such a prominent display of affection. Adora's face had fallen, and William had pulled her into his arms, shielding her face from view. His face was hard. He certainly looked pissed at the accusation.

Then he began to drum his fingers on her shoulder. The soft sound carried over to her ears and captivated her. It wasn't even any particular tune, just a series of beats. He used all four fingers at once, tapping the same beat. Why did it seem so familiar?

_Taptap-tap-tap, taptap-tap-tap…_

She found herself drumming her fingers on the table in the same tune, trying to really hear it, to understand it. It was fast, and repetitive. She'd heard it before, but where?

_Taptap-tap-tap, taptap-tap-tap, taptap-tap-tap, taptap-tap-tap…_

Sirius grabbed her hand, stopping her. Her head jolting upwards in surprise, she realised that everybody was watching her. Including William. He'd stopped tapping.

"Sorry." She whispered, dropping her eyes to the table. Sirius squeezed her hand and pulled it under the table, rubbing his thumb gently over her knuckles. They'd talk later.

Dumbledore stood up in frustration, turning away from them to the kitchen window. He sighed mournfully, shaking his head. "I regret to inform you all, that the Order, for now, will have to shut down all its operations. Until we know who can be trusted, I simply can't trust anybody. We will close our ranks until I figure out what is going on. You twelve, for now, will have to hold the bulk of the problems for now. Most of you are going to be stationed at Howarts as either teachers or as the Aurors patrolling the castle walls anyway. The others from the rest of the Order will have to be pulled out and put under Veritaserium. Those who are ruled out can go back to their missions. It will be up to you to round them up and commission the tests."

He turned back to them. "Severus, you will have to brew this potion illegally, I know. I'll be away liaising with the Minister for Magic in New Zealand." He gave Mary a meaningful look, who smiled back and nodded. "Of course, I'll have to ask if you all wouldn't mind offering yourselves up to the testing?"

After everybody had quickly agreed, he turned back to Snape. "I'll test you myself when I get back. I'll expect a full report. I'm just sorry that it had to come to this."

He nodded his head in the direction of the door, looking at William and Adora. "Go to Harry, then resume positions in sector six. I assume that they'll remember you from the past?"

"Of course." William took his wife's hand and pulled her towards the door.

"Then they'll be more than happy to welcome you back." There was an undertone to his voice that no one in the room had heard in the headmasters voice before. That same look of disappointment he occasionally cast the pair was back.

Both Severus Snape and Sirius Black seemed to have the same thought, at the same time, sharing a look of consideration and agreement that was likely to only ever happen once in their lifetimes.

"No." Dumbledore sounded angry, pissed off being the most likely phrase to describe the expression on his face. "If I find out that you used that potion on either of them when I get back there will be hell to pay. They don't factor in to these tests. They are to be left alone, no questions asked. I don't care how much you want to know who they are, it's not happening any time soon!"

There was a frosty silence as everyone in the room witnessed one of those rare occasions where Dumbledore showed any true emotion other than the general calm that he usually displayed.

Molly dared to speak. "What are you going to do about Ginny?"

His face softened considerably. "We're going to bring in Harry."

_A/N: Okay… so I think I haven't replied to at least 12 of your lovely, lovely reviews, and I'm so sorry about that =/ And of course there's the matter of not updating in a while…again… sorry. I originally planned to have this story done by the end of summer but that went a bit cock-eyed. So my new deadline is Christmas day. _

_That way the first chapter of the sequel 'Diamonds and Coal' can be posted. _

_I'll post the next chapter tonight when I back from the theatre (yeah, a play, I can swear and be sophisticated)._


	20. Temper

Important AN: I'll do this in bullet points to make it less apprehensive –

-I've started a livejournal which should allow you to err, encourage me to update more often. I'll post snippets of future chapters, spoilers, updates on updates, etc, and of course there'll be the chance to talk to me personally about anything and everything, suggest things that you want to happen or have in there, ask me to write things/challenges/one-shots… blah, blah… you get the point. Links at the top of my new and improved profile page, feel free to drop in and send me a message, or just lurk xD

-This chapter will clear up a LOT of your questions, I'm happy to say! Most of the old ones anyway, not the new ones. Ginny being the way she is and Harry being cold, etc. I don't think Dumbledore's secret is quite as completely revealed as you would like though.

-Updates should speed up. I'm a lot more upbeat now I'm back in school (yes, I'm a freak), and I'm flying through all my coursework. I mean, I thought A Level and AS Level work was supposed to be brutal. Either I'm fucking brilliant (which I am ;)), or people LIED.

-And finally… rawr.

_Quote: 'Summers you drive like a SPAZ!' - Principle Snyder ... **Buffy the Vampire Slaye**r =]_

**Blood and Chocolate**

* * *

Previously: When no one spoke, he motioned for the two hooded figures to drop their hoods. "I'd like to introduce you to Adora and William Black, distant cousins of Sirius…"

"They're not your cousins are they?" I whispered, leaning over to my godfather.

He shook his head, sliding down in his seat slightly to respond. "No, Dumbledore's concealed their identities. He won't tell me who they are."

_The laughing redoubled, not just one voice this time. They were getting closer, and closer, and the sound of those voices rode underneath it, screams and cries of those unable to voice their pain carrying out through the darkness. _

_Then something hit me in the chest, hard, knocking me back onto the floor. _

"_You will be mine, Harry Potter."_

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Temper

_Ginny_

Finding myself as unfortunately as I did in the Library back at Hogwarts, I scoured the aisles of books for Hermione. Just as the thought that perhaps the girl wasn't actually in there (as rare as an occasion that would be), I spotted her thick curly brown hair through a gap in the bookcase.

"Hermione!" I hissed, keeping my voice low to avoid detection from Madame Pince.

She turned her head sharply in my direction. "Hello Ginny, what are you in here for? I thought this many books in one place gave you the creeps?"

Some of them screamed. That wasn't normal! Shaking my head, I sat down beside her. "Hermione… I…"

She closed the book she was perusing softly, running her finger down the spine in thought as she looked down guiltily. "You want to know about Harry, about you?" She said, frowning.

I nodded once, slightly worried by the expression on her face. She bit her bottom lip looking over my shoulder at Madame Pince. "Come with me." She stood up and walked casually through the mazes of books to the far west side of the cavernous room. I had to say, I had never been this far in, but Hermione seemed to know what she was doing. NO one was around, the entire section dimmed by the fact that none of the laps were lit. The only light coming from somewhere further ahead, behind a shroud of bookcases Hermione walked around a nearby bookcase to a small nook in what must be the actual corner of the room – I could honestly say I hadn't managed to find one of those yet.

"Out. Now, before I call Madame Pince. Don't make me give you a detention." Startled, I was forced to take a step back as a flushed couple ran out of the darkness into the main part of the library.

I raised my eyebrows at her; unsure if I wanted to know why she knew that it was a 'snogging spot'.

She shrugged. "Nobody ever goes this far back. It's only logical that some Ravenclaw will have realised its potential before now. I figured I'd just check, we don't want to be overheard." She got down on her knees and pulled out a floor board from under the only table back here.

I sat down at the table and waited.

"So… what did you want to know?" She looked slightly nervous, jittery, as if afraid someone would come running in and tell her off.

So many questions popped into me head at once. I didn't know what to say, having to sort through them before I could speak. "Me. What's happening to me? I… burned Juliet's boyfriend. That rune carved itself into my skin-"

"Which one?" She asked sharply.

"S- sow… lio? I can't pronounce it right. The one connected to the sun."

Her hands shook slightly as she opened one of the books. "You… you're special, Ginny."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Special? Don't tell me, I'm a witch, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. Don't pretend you don't know the rumours of the 7th children of the 7th child. There are notable ones throughout history. Godric Gryffindor's parents waited for a decade after he was born before finding out that he could tame Dragons. Supposedly, in the same way that Salazar Slytherin could talk to Snakes. Rowena Ravenclaw could control the element wind. She could create hurricanes strong enough to wipe out continents, control the weather. Helga Hufflepuff had control over the Earth. If you look back at historic depictions of her, she was always portrayed as a force of good, goddess of the earth. She was said to have erupted the only supervolcano in England in a fit of rage. Even Merlin was one."

"I could rhyme of a list of all of the famous people who have been born like you, and eventually ended up showing a great amount of power at some point in their life. But… You get the point. It was going to happen to you at some point. Dumbledore's been waiting for something to happen, and you burning Greg was… apparently it."

"Which means…?"

"You're getting older. Your magic is connected to your emotions. When you got distressed, your body reacted. You've always had a bit of a fiery temper. I guess it's only fitting that your magic would expand to the point of you unleashing it with fire… so to speak."

"So you think…?"

"That you may just have obtained some form of control over fire. I mean, it would make sense, and you were bound to be 'special' in some way sooner or later."

I leaned forward in my seat; looking at the book she had open. "This told you all that? That I'm… That I…"

She nodded. "Obviously I had to fill in some blanks… I came straight to the library when we came back to see if I was right. I found out a lot more in the process. Most of which, I'm sure that Dumbledore doesn't want you to know."

"Like?"

"Well… For example. I know that you and Harry are connected in some way. That day that his magic marked you was the 'first mark'. There should be three by your sixteenth birthday or you won't reach full potential. You see there was a prophecy, made well before you were born, back just after Voldemort first started to rise to power. I can't find the actual text, I think it was destroyed at some point to prevent people from finding and killing the people involved but it said, essentially, that there would be a girl born, as the 7th daughter of the 7th daughter, she'd wield the power of the sun and rise up beside the chosen one to save the world. She'd be marked three times by her 16 birthday, and could be a force of good or bad, depending on a swaying point."

She turned to a point further back in the book. "I'm certain that that girl is you and Harry is the 'Chosen One'. This swaying point, I'm sure, is Voldemort and his alliance to Saiph. He wants you for… whatever reason. But the third mark is the decider. So far, there's the one on your hand, and the rune on your back. The rune connected to you, because it saw the energy flowing through you, it should strengthen your connection to the sun. Harry's magic marked you because it saw you as his equal. It knew your destiny."

I stood up and walked across to the other book shelves. One of the lamps automatically lit next to me as I examined the spines of the books. They were all on ancient arts. "You're sure about this?"

When I turned around again, she was smiling. "As magical as this castle is, the lights don't light themselves. At least, not the gas lamps. The candles do."

My heart began to race as I watched the flame flickering behind its dusty glass case. "Oh." Was all I could say.

"This Harry thing." She said, closing the book. "You give him strength. The mark is a protection, so to speak, when you're around each other, it strengthens and… presumably, expands. I'm not sure what will happen but… whatever it is won't be bad… I don't think."

"And the third mark?"

"I don't know… but whatever it is, you need to have it by your 16th birthday or you can't… do whatever it was you were destined to do. I'm still looking. I'll keep you updated as I fill in the blanks. I know it's complicated, and a bit much to take in, but I promise, I'll be here to help you." She said sincerely.

My mind went completely blank as I tried to understand everything she'd said. As wonderful as it was to finally get some answers, I was about ready to scream. WHY hadn't anybody figured this out before? And WHY was I the last person to know?

It made no sense.

I slammed both hands on the table, shaking my head. "Right. Say all that again. Simplified. In bullet points."

She cracked small smile, obviously happy I wasn't completely freaking out. Outwardly at least.

"Okay, so first – you are the 7th daughter of a 7th daughter, and therefore destined to do something great. You were gifted with the control over fire, and there was a prophecy depicting your ascension alongside the 'chosen one', who I believe is Harry, to do this something great. An awe inspiring, life changing, new age worthy… something. You can only do this if you have three marks by your 16th birthday, two of which you have, one of which I'm trying to figure out. The first was Harry's magic marking you, which has connected you two in some weird way that is changing the way you both function, and the second which both marks and strengthens your connection to the sun. You are going to be presented with a choice."

She either for dramatic effect or to annoy me before adding as a more serious afterthought. "Your choice will shape the way the magical world works for as long as you live afterwards."

"No pressure then." I said, nodding slowly. I pulled a face. "Can you try saying all that again?"

_Harry_

_Sitting in a white room, my eyes began to sting with the sheerness of the purity of everything. Even the furniture was white. I was in front of a desk, a large table stretching out in front of that. There were 13 seats. All empty._

_I blinked and the room became distorted, the seats suddenly filled with people. Dumbledore was up in front, glaring me down. Sirius, Mary, Remus, Snape and McGonagall on one side and Mr and Mrs Weasley, Kingsley, Moody and Hestia Jones on the other. The two vampires stood at the back, looking like the darkest things in the room. _

_There was a bang as something hard hit the table. "Ginny Weasley died tonight because of your insolence." I felt numb. Dead? Mrs Weasley was crying, loudly. "You couldn't have just kept her safe? She needed you and you let her down. Voldemort only wanted her because of you."_

_Panic began to settle in. Did Voldemort know that we were together? If I had been able to feel what he felt before now, before I died, maybe he felt what I'd felt for Ginny?_

_I looked to Sirius, sitting forward. "Sirius, please, I didn't know-"_

_Sirius shook his head. "I am so disappointed in you."_

_Hyperventilating, I was shocked to feel my heart beating in my chest. Already, it didn't feel right. Barely cold for 3 months and I already can't quite remember the way I was supposed to feel to have a beating heart._

_The room was becoming longer, everything becoming further and further away. _

_The walls were slowly becoming blacker and blacker the further away I got. _

_The chair was pulled up and out from under me, forcing me to my feet as the final stripes of white in the walls around me bled out, leaving me in darkness… again._

_Just as before, the sound of nonsensical screaming slid down my spine and I shuddered. The whispering wasn't there this time, fading in the background. There wasn't even a tremor in the entity on which I stood as it ripped open underneath me. _

_Stepping onto one side of what was becoming an open chasm, I watched as flames bred up into the air around me, out of the ground with a roar of energy. I tried to step back, but with each step I took, the closer to the flames I got. _

_Something stirred within the inferno and my eyes locked onto it, watching as the billowing smoke that almost glowed in the light of the fire against the blackness surrounding it formed the shape of something not very well formed. It had wings though, so did its impression in the fire. _

_They snapped forward and it flew out of the flames, mouth opening wide. Fire dripped from each of its long, sharp, teeth, a loud roar echoing in my ears as I turned away from the heat burning my face. _

_A set of arms came around my chest from behind. "I've got you."_

_It was the first coherent phrase I'd heard on this plane. The first time I'd heard a woman speaking, rather than screaming in agony. _

_The sun broke through the black sky and brought everything out of the darkness. The screaming ended, and the flames ebbed. I was on a hill; two gravestones standing proudly just up ahead. She let me go and walked out in front of me, her red hair dancing in the sunshine as she grazed the tips of her fingers along the tops of the stones. _

_My eyes dropped to the engravings and I saw the two names I hoped I wouldn't. _

"_Mum?"_

_The woman looked up and smiled brightly. She looked pale, almost dead, but still oddly full of life. She didn't respond for a long while, before tilting her head slightly towards something off behind me. I didn't dare turn around for the fear that she'd be gone when I looked back. _

_Finally, she walked forward and enveloped me in a hug. She felt cold. "We've got you, Harry."_

Dropping down beside Sirius at the dining table, I immediately leant forward, dropping my head into my hands. Squeezing my eyes shut for a second, I reopened them with apparent distain for the living world. My head hurt.

A hand fell onto my shoulder. "Alright, mate?"

Sirius looked concerned.

"I couldn't sleep." I let go of my head and found my hands shaking.

"Harry?" He sat up straight, dropping the copy of the daily prophet he was reading.

I shook my head slowly, running a hand over my mouth. I felt positively ill.

"Sirius something's after me."

"A lot of people are, Harry…"

"No, not 'people', Sirius, something. I don't know what it is, but it's there, in the darkness."

"Harry, what – start from the beginning."

I closed my eyes again as the sun suddenly decided to shine through the window. It burned my face more than it should have.

"When I died, I was in this place… it was devoid of everything, just… darkness. But something was there, and it was after me. Now every time I go to sleep I go back there. It invades my dreams and… it's making me weak."

"Sit back out of the sun." He said quietly, touching a hand to my face, then to the back of my neck. "You're cold. But your face is burning up in the sunlight. Harry, when you're weak… you need to be careful with what you come into contact with, if you know what I mean…"

I nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Harry… I think you need to see Ginny."

It took me a while to fully take in what he'd just said. "…What?"

"Mary and I… we noticed that you started to loose strength, cool down, after she went to school. But then she snuck in, and you're magic did that… reaching out, thing… You were warm again; strong, bit of colour back in your cheeks… so to speak. I don't know why, but you need her, and the reason why your mind is weak enough to access that part of you – that… in that that darkness, is because you're not around her."

"The darkness is a part of me?"

"No… it's… hard to explain. I have had relatives that were vampires, friends, allies, enemies. When I talked to them about the time that they died... they said the same thing as you. All they felt was despair, death and sorrow. Darkness and whispers. There was never anything after them though. They admitted that when they were weak, when they didn't feed, their minds took them back to that place."

"What is it…?"

He went silent. "I don't know. They believed that that was what was waiting for them when they die." He stood up and went to lean on the kitchen counter.

"What do they think it is?"

He turned away. "I really don't think-"

"Sirius." My voice sounded an awful lot stronger than I felt I was.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Hell."

_Ginny _

Ultimately, the only thing that was stopping me from killing my own brother was the sheer fact that he was my brother, and therefore mum would kill me if I ever did. Whenever anybody mentioned Harry he blanked them. He wouldn't listen to reason, that he was his best friend and needed to trust him.

Unfortunately for me, he defended his reasons for denouncing Harry's friendship for the time being with such vehemence that eventually, I had to hit him.

And so, here I was, sat in Professor McGonagall's office, scowling like the teenager I was next to Ron, who was supporting a bloody nose.

"She hit me!" he groused.

"Of course she did, you've done nothing but say awful things about someone who is supposed to be your friend. She cares for Harry too, you're lucky Miss Granger hasn't said anything yet."

"She's been too busy trying to stop me from killing him." I growled, refusing to look at him. What he's said had really got on my nerves. Who did he think he was?

I could see him scowling out of the corner of my eye and felt my blood boil.

"Oh, so you've gone and gotten Hermione on your side now too?"

"I didn't need to. He made a mistake. I still care about him, and I forgive him. It's up to him to make it right now, not for me to judge. Good friends stick by you no matter what. It was out of his control-"

"Like hell it was! He knew exactly what he was doing! Being a vampire has gone to his head."

I stood up to – well, I don't know 'do' something. Hitting him seemed like the best bet. McGonagall beat me to it magically knocking me back into my chai and turning to Ron.

"Now listen here, Mr Weasley. I don't care what preconceptions you have with Mr Potter, but he is a good person. He would never willingly hurt anybody."

"Didn't stop him from killing that girl." He said bitterly.

McGonagall's face went red, and her nostrils flared. "Mr Weasley, I suggest you leave. Now, before something else gets broken."

The only thing stopping me from hurting him was the fact that I appeared to be glued to my seat.

"Wait outside!" She shouted over the sound of the door slamming behind him.

"I know he's frustrating, nut just… hang in there, I didn't tell you this, but Harry's coming back soon."

I felt my face light up. "Why?"

"The headmaster feels that he's ready." She said. I knew she was withholding information, but she'd just given me the best news I'd heard in a while. I couldn't complain.

"You understand I have to give you a detention, as much as I understand why you did it."

"Yes." She waved her wand to release me from my invisible glue.

"My office, 7 o'clock." She said. "Send him back in after you leave."

"Sure."

She nodded me out. I found Ron outside in a mood. "You disgust me." I spat.

He didn't say anything as I stormed off. I waited until I was safely around the corner to break out into a grin.

Harry was coming home.

_Harry_

Dumbledore had me sat down alone in the kitchen but for Sirius and Mary, who were standing holding hands in the corner of a kitchen counter, looking decidedly nervous.

"Harry. We've recently had a bit of a crisis. There's been a leak of information to Voldemort within the order and we've had to systematically shut down and reopen operations as and when we can prove that we can trust people."  
"And what's that got to do with me?"

"Miss Weasley is under threat from outsiders. She is weal right now, what with all the fainting and migraines. She needs protection."

"And you want me to do what, exactly?"

"I've had a discussion with your guardians and we believe that you're ready for a trial run. You need to look after her while you're there, which, from what I've seen of the two of you together, shouldn't be too hard." He raised an eyebrow at me and all I could do was smile at stutter at him.

"W-how? When?"

"November 4th. You will be there for a trail period, only if things go well, you won't be removed. People will be under the impression that you were injured at the Ministry of Magic and have been in private recovery ever since. You're now better and ready to return to school. You'll have your own quarters on standby if you should ever need time out, safely. Feel free to stay there for a while, until you get better accustomed to being back in the school."

"It's October 10th now, what are we doing until then?"

"You need to prepare. Try to get a handle on your Animagus form. William and Adora have a few things to teach you to prepare. I can't send you in until I'm sure you can handle it. Unfortunately I'm not prepared to put my entire school in jeopardy for one student. As important as Miss Weasley appears to be."

I ran a hand through my hair, slouching back in my seat. "Okay…" I closed my eyes. "Have you figured out why Voldemort is after her yet?"

The headmaster shared a brief look with Sirius over my shoulder. He nodded.

"What?"

"At first… I thought that had something to do with you… but then Severus brought some interesting news to me."

"Yes?"

"…Ginny…is…special." He said cautiously. "To Saiph, and apparently, important to the war. He appears to be adamant that she not be harmed though, if that's at all comforting."

"I couldn't help but sneer. "Oh, of course. A dangerous vampire wants her, but it's okay, because he won't hurt her!" I flew out of my seat, mind reeling. "Why is she 'important' to the war?"

"She has potential." He said shortly.

"And that's all you can tell me." I was angrier than I had been in a long while and I couldn't really justify it.

"Yes."

"Sir, I-"

"I'm afraid, Harry, this time, I can't. I know you care for her, but this information is just too delicate. If I tell you, and you tell Miss Weasley, and I'm wrong…" he indicated to the chair. "Sit down, Harry, please. I need to just go over a few things."

I almost laughed. Almost. "No. I need to – just no."

"Harry!" Sirius pushed forward from the counter. "You can't just-"

Blocking out the rest, I turned and walked out of the front door.

* * *

They didn't come after me, for which I was glad, and yet I felt unbelievably childish for storming out. It wasn't called for, not really.

Even as I called down I felt anger bubbling beneath the surface. It didn't feel like it was mine either. I felt relatively calm, but something inside me was raging. I stopped dead in the middle of the street. What -?

My arm was tingling. Looking down, I found the hair on the back of my arm thickening and lengthening before my eyes. Swearing violently, I threw myself forward, running back towards the house. Through the front door and half way down the hall Sirius jumped out in front of me. "You can't talk to Dumbledore like that." He stated.

"Not now, Sirius." I tried to move past him but he blocked me.

"Harry, we need to talk about this – we aren't finished, there's more you need to –"

My face started to tingle too, my eyes suddenly burling out of focus and sharpening in quick succession. Blindly, I grabbed the front of Sirius shirt, pushing him up against the wall.

"You're eyes…"

I let him go, walking past him towards the old drawing room.

"I said _not now."_

* * *

A/N: This is only half as long as I wanted it to be. Its been ages since I said I'd update though… so… I'll post the next chapter soon-er than this one, and expand on this whole… Ginny being responsible for the magical world stuff…

Also – if you don't get what the 'third mark' is going to be then get out of my sight! =P But seriously, I'm gonna ago have my tea, post something on my livejournal page so you lot can actually see it should you click on the link and… then I'm going to edit this chapter, it looks messy….


	21. Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: This is really late for three reasons: I am currently re-writing my old fic Heaven for The Weather, Hell for the Company. I'm in the middle of a big project for one of my A Levels, it's all for an exam I have next month. I'm in the middle of planning out a novel I'm planning on slowly adding to over the years.

I will try to update faster, but after I've posted this I'm going to brave going back and editing out any mistakes in previous chapters of this story. Should be fun, eh?

_Quote: 'I get all...numb… We're the same…. Numb...And it brings our knees to the earth!  
So God bless you all! For the song you saved us...oh... For the hearts you break, every time you moan!_

_And God bless you all on the earth...' _

_Minerva – Deftones_

**

* * *

Blood and Chocolate**

_Part 2: Unreal_

Chapter 21: Secrets

* * *

Seconds after the door closed behind me, the sound of the commotion on the other side of the door silenced behind the charms around the room. A jolt of pain shot down my back, and for the first time since I had been locked in the underground holding cells at the Ministry, I felt agony apparelled to nothing as my head began to force itself outwards, my spine curving out of position.

It dawned on me, briefly, that my clothes were likely to tare, and in an attempted to salvage some sort of dignity when I had to leave the room, I just about managed to remove them before I was sent to my knees. I could hear my bones cracking and breaking, dislocating and re-shaping themselves to a new form altogether. My skin felt raw, burning as it stretched to accommodate something a lot larger than I was.

It went on for what felt like hours, while in reality, it was only a minute or so. When it all stopped I felt weak, collapsing to the ground. I could feel my own thoughts fading into nothing as something much more powerful took over. I was on my feet, stumbling slightly as I tried to co-ordinate being on four, as opposed to two legs. There was power underneath each step, strong muscles poised ready to pounce at any moment. I could smell everything all of a sudden.

Before it had been the basis of things around me, and blood were there any to be spilt, but now it was their scent, outside the door, and a stronger one lying just beyond that. It was still stuck to my skin, as impossible as it was, lurking somewhere in the distance, getting closer.

Humans.

The door opened all of a sudden and a small amount of light was cast into the room as someone entered.

* * *

_Ginny _

When I arrived at the front door of Grimmauld Place the last thing I expected to see was Albus Dumbledore waiting for me… or at least that's what it looked like.

"Ah, Miss Weasley! Just the person I wanted to see."

I froze, expecting to get told off for sneaking off school grounds… again. "Er… really?"

He waved me in. "See, didn't I tell you?" He turned to Sirius and smiled.

The man in question didn't look too happy. Especially not when I was being led toward the drawing room door. "If you could just open that for me…" he nodded his hand towards the handle.

Sirius shook his head. "It's locked, we-"

The door opened with a click beneath my fingers. Dumbledore just raised his eyebrows at me, waiting. "Off you pop – we'll be in the kitchen when you're ready."

Sirius continued to look uncomfortable with the situation. "Albus, you can't – what if he's-"

"Doesn't matter. Kitchen please, now." He dismissed, walking off into the other room.

Curious, I ignored Sirius' warning and entered the darkened room. The door closed and disappeared behind me automatically. Plunged into darkness, I waded blindly into the centre of the room, my feet glowing slightly as they hit my rune on the floor, casting a slight redish glow across a few feet around me. I still couldn't make anything out. It wasn't until I heard a swishing sound behind me that I realised someone else was in the room.

It stalked around me in a full circle twice before the edge of one of its paws was highlighted by the small glow under my feet. Taking a step back, effectively cutting off my only light source, I let out a loud shriek as something jumped forward and slammed me into the ground.

Groaning as my back took a beating; I tilted my head backwards to see a pair of deep green eyes staring back at me. There was a low rumble somewhere close to my chest as it bared its sharp teeth ever so slightly and growled.

Something soft and furry brushed up against my arm as it braced its legs, something was touching my shoulder as it lowered its head – it tickled.

"Harry!" I grabbed his head and tried to force him to look at me. He suddenly didn't seem all that menacing. He was furry, and soft, and kinda cuddly… when he wasn't growling. Hardly a carnivorous beast.

Somehow it didn't seem like a combination you'd find in a monster. I ran my fingers around the outside of his eyes ad around the top of his head, watching as he closed his eyes. "Harry… are you going to keep growling at me or can I see your face?"

There was a pause where nothing happened, then a soft groan as he appeared to vanish from view. His hand brushed against my cheek. I sat up on my elbows and decided to sit still and wait, considering that I didn't know where he'd gone and I couldn't see a thing. I felt him shuffle just behind me, then move to fall down beside me.

"Alright?" I asked.

"I uhh… feel a little tired." He sounded out of breath.

Just as I was thinking that I could really do with some light on the situation – a few candles around the room lit up. I remembered with a pang what Hermione had told me earlier. Harry, now dimly lit in the darkness, was lying flat on his back, eyes closed, still rather breathless. He also had his shirt on inside out. "Where you naked before?" I suddenly remembered with a smirk exactly what animagus transformations entailed.

"Little bit." He admitted. He squeezed his eyes shut then reopened them tiredly. "I… feel like every part of me is on fire…" He groaned again as he rolled over, coming to rest with his head on my stomach. He arched his back slightly then relaxed. "And like someone tore my spine in two."

"Poor you?" I cooed, playing with his hair. "What happened? Did you get around to making that potion?"

"No… it was weird. I was angry with Dumbledore. Just as I was calming down I got even angrier… the next thing I knew I was sprouting fur and I had to strip before I started changing and tore my clothes." He wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me close. "And now everything hurts…" He whined.

My fingers paused halfway through his hair. "When was this?"

"Just now, why?"

"Well… I spoke to Hermione a few days ago; she'd figured a lot of the stuff out. It's supposed to have put my mind at rest, but now that I'm aware of what I'm doing…" I looked over at one of the candles and concentrated on the flame. I felt the heat surge up through my body and outwards towards the flame. It shot up a few feet then calmed down.

He raised his eyebrows. "Wandless magic?"

"Kind of. She found something about a girl who was supposed to help you defeat a 'great evil' and that she'd be 'special'. She'd be the 7th child of a 7th child, the first female in a line of men and… he magic would be so far connected to her magic that it'd just… blow up a little bit."

He was quiet for a while, then he nudged me playfully. "You have always had a fiery temper."

"It's not funny, Harry, this is serious! I burned Greg because he scared the shit out of me and I wanted to get away. Random lamps and candles keep lighting themselves around me and it's pissing me off. I was normal up until 6 months ago. Now I'm fainting all the time, my magic is mutating because of you." I knocked him back slightly and stood up. He made an odd noise as his back hit the floor again. "It is your fault, I know it is, because the bloody book said so. And this-" I brandished the scar on the back of my hand at him. "-keeps burning every time it happens."

He rolled his eyes. "Ginny. That prophecy I told you about that told me I would have 'the power he knew not' and it was either me or him that had to go? I felt like that then. That everything was over, and there was no point in trying. The difference is, that I'm used to being put in these situations. I'm used to things going wrong, and everything going to shit. You're not. You're a Weasley. You grew up surrounded by family, loved and cared for, without a worry in the world. And now you're being shoved into my world, where you have all these things happening to you, and you don't know how to handle it. I get it. I do. Stop yelling at me and explain what's going on."

I deflated a little bit, but didn't sit back down, deciding to lean against the wall. "Apparently I'll get three marks, then I'm going to decide the fate of the wizarding world. I have to choose. I'll be presented with a choice and my decision will either plunge the world into darkness, or bring them back into the golden ages, where there weren't dark lords and death eaters running around. I'm pretty sure they're connected. You're prophecy and this thing Hermione read. You have to defeat you-know-who, and I'm supposed to either give you the… whatever it is to do it… or I don't. I either help you kill him, or I let us loose the war."

He just about managed to stand up, wincing as he did. I suddenly felt bad for knocking him back earlier. "Well you don't look evil to me. I wouldn't worry about it."

"How can I-"

He grabbed my shoulders and kissed me soundly. "Stop. Worrying."

"I-" I tried weakly, but he shook his head, smiling down at me placatingly.

"You haven't got an evil bone in your body. I can't see how you're ever going to do anything but be there while this war is happening. The only thing you've ever done that doesn't particularly help situations is not doing as you're told. Just… don't think about it. Let me worry about it, it's my burden to carry, you've just been dragged into it somehow." He went quiet and took one of my hands, the one with the mark.

I watched as the magic flowed once again through his finger tips and coiled itself around my hand, traveling down my wrist. He kissed the back of my hand, over the scar, and a jolt went right through my body. "What's all this about?"

I took a deep breath. "Hermione thinks that this is the 'first mark'. Of the three. Your magic recognised mine. It's like… your soul reached out to mine and connected with it because it knew we were supposed to work as one unit in this war. It triggered the awakening of the 'power' I'm supposed to have being the 7th daughter of a 7th daughter. There are people scattered across history that were like me, and did amazing things. Something always triggered it… this was my trigger. And… it brought a little boost of power with it, I guess. My magic has been a little off… I keep doing this wrong, or overdoing it a little bit. Now that I know I can channel that energy into fire… it keeps happening without me even thinking about it." I shook my head. "It's weird… like the first time I ever did magic. There's a rush of energy that flows right through your body, and it feels so unique, you can't quite describe it. It's frightening."

Harry kissed my forehead, pulling me into a hug. "You're going to be fine, you just need to settle into it… then everything will go back to normal. Maybe that's what's draining you? Giving you headaches?"

"Yeah… maybe."

I dropped my head onto his chest. "Harry before… Ron really pissed me off. I hit him, you know?" I swallowed hard. "You don't think… that because I…" I trailed off.

He pulled a face. "To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you were projecting your emotions to me unintentionally or not."

I groaned. "Can we go back outside? I don't want to think about this anymore."

He didn't reply, stepping back to pull his shirt over his head and putting it back on the right way around before exiting through the newly appeared door. I presented him to the kitchen with a flourish. "Look who I found!"

Sirius smiled at the sight of me standing there alive and entirely unharmed. Harry sat down gingerly in the seat next to his godfather, accepting a potion from Remus without questioning what it was.

"It won't be that painful the next time you transform." Said Sirius.

Remus nodded grimly. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been though. You're heart doesn't beat and you don't need to breathe… Whenever I transform into a werewolf, my heart stops, and I can't breathe while my organs re-arrange themselves. It's quite painful."

Sirius nodded. "I don't think I had as much respect as I did when I first transformed for Remus as I did before. He does that every month and I only had to do it once or twice."

Dumbledore sat in silence on the opposite side of the room. "We might need to re-evaluate the situation. Things have changed."

He turned to me. "I think you are aware of what I mean, Miss Weasley."

"Please don't stop him from going back to school because of me." I shook my head violently. I don't think I could stand him not being there for much longer.

"Oh, on the contrary. We will go ahead as planned. What I mean is, your situation." He nodded for me to sit down. "Right now, you are very fragile, and the power your excursing each day is weakening you further."

"You don't think that the magic use is what's causing it?" I asked timidly, my voice slightly higher than it usually was. I had so hoped it was.

"No, I'm afraid not, Miss Weasley. Unfortunately…This is a different matter entirely. It is weakening you, yes, but it should not cause you to blackout. Your magic is a part of you – your body will adapt and strengthen every day to accommodate the extra expulsions."

I closed my eyes. "So what did you want to do?"

"Harry is being trained by two members of the Order of the Phoenix to control his magic, and his emotions in relation to them. I think… that once he comes back to school and the training moves to school grounds… you may benefit from the help. Harry was angry at me. And you were angry at your brother. And unfortunately… it appears that your anger latched onto his and made it grow to the point that he achieved his animagus form before he was supposed to." He pointed to the mark on the back of my hand. "I do not know to what extent you are connected but… as it goes, I'm assuming that the worse that can happen is that you will occasionally connect, magically, that is. You knew something was happening to him, and so you felt the need to come here and see him, am I right? Seeing as your magic is so greatly connected to your magic… I think it would be best if you did train with Harry. If that's alright with you."

"Of course." I said immediately.

* * *

_Harry_

There was a large study opposite the library with bookcases lining the walls, a gap only for a door, and the back wall left clear for a window. The desk had been pushed right up against the window and a few chairs and a table had been placed in the middle. William Black sat to my right, while Adora was stood looking curiously through the books on the shelves.

"Tell me, Harry, what do you know about being a vampire?"

"Other than the fact that I apparently am one?" I asked. "You're heart stops beating, you don't need air, you're essentially living dead… only less decomposed. Powerful, enhanced sight and hearing… strength… agile…" I trailed off.

He laughed. "Where'd you hear all of that?"

"Hermione. And the fact that there all true for me…" I said slowly, looking at him in what I knew must have been a mix of confusion and worry for his sanity.

He took my hand and held it against his chest without warning. Confused, I almost jumped as I realised that his heart was beating beneath my fingertips. He grinned, letting go of my hand. "I mean, yeah, all the other ones are true, I wont deny that, but your heart does beat… or will… it's an odd process. It takes a while for the venom to sink right through your system. It's should sort of be stuck somewhere around your head, neck and chest… after a while it'll do a full circuit of your body and… your body should end up running on magic. It keeps your heart beating. Believe me, it was a shock when it happened to me too but… it's a largely kept secret. You know all of those muggle rumours about how vampires cant stand sunlight, a stake through the heart will kill them, they cant be seen in mirrors, their heart doesn't beat… all of that?"

"Yeah…"

"Most of them were dismissed as false a long while ago. If I'm honest, the wizarding world still believes the whole 'stake through the heart' thing. It hurts like hell and is likely to kill you eventually… but that's nothing to do with being a vampire – its just common sense."

"It says in the books-"

"And who do you think wrote those books? If people knew that vampires were almost completely human there would be chaos! The race had to stay hidden so they set out false trails of how to spot one. If the world knew, they would suspect a whole host of people who weren't vampires of being one."

I felt really confused. Shaking my head, I looked away. "Whatever. I'm beyond caring about the eccentricities of this by this point."

He smiled at me and I did a double take. "So… you knew my parents?"

Adora came to sit on Williams other side with a book or two. "Yes. We've known your family for a few generations, actually." She said.

"Whatever did happen to Sirius?" Asked William softly. "Dumbledore wouldn't tell us…"

"He was framed for murder." I said shortly. "Are you under glamour? Your image shifts every now and again… and if you knew my parents then you should have known their friends."

"Yeah… it's… for the best. I know that part." He said, quickly getting off the subject. "He was framed for killing James and Lily by Peter Pettigrew, and then for the further deaths of the 13 muggles, and the murder of Peter Pettigrew. What I don't understand, is how he managed to get off if, while being innocent for most respects… he blew the guy up. That's still murder."

My eyebrows knitted together while I tried to figure out why Dumbledore would keep such a vital piece of information from them. "… Pettigrew isn't dead. He's a rat animagus, he cut off his thumb, transformed and ran off. He's one of Voldemorts favourite death eaters. Why wouldn't Dumbledore tell you that?"

I watched as anger slowly descended across his face. "That rat's still alive?"

I nodded slowly, watching as he shot from his seat before Adora could do anything about it. "William, don't!" She shouted. "He's not worth it, WILLIAM!" it was too late.

"Were you really that close to my parents?"

"They were like brothers." She said with a hint of what appeared to by cynicism. "He wont get far, he doesn't know where he is." She sighed, closing her book. "Do you want to try these spells again or do you want to go get some rest?"

I shrugged. "It's only 7, I'm not really all that tired."

"You've been up for a couple of days, Harry… you don't want to overwork yourself…"

I shook my head. "Every time I go to sleep I have these horrible nightmares… my mum's always there to pull me out of them, and as much as I love to see her in any way shape or form, even if it is in a dream… the nightmares are really unnerving."

"Darkness?" She asked grimly.

"Yeah… how did you…?"

"I died once." She admitted. "That's when William turned me. He'd been unwilling before. We'd… bonded, I suppose the word was. He bit me, but didn't turn me, and it kept me sort of frozen to live on with him forever but… I was scared. We were in a war, I didn't want to die and leave everyone behind. He wouldn't do it and then… I died. I was… somewhere nice. And then all of a sudden I wasn't. It was dark, and no one was there. There was a baby screaming, crying, but I couldn't find it." She looked like she was going to burst into tears. "Then I came back and… well I was like this. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be alive I just… miss my friends and family."

She looked up at me suddenly, as if remembering who she was talking to. "Sorry… I just… know what you mean. It's like everything good in the world is gone and you're the only person left."

All I could do was nod, deciding not to mention the fact that every time I went there, there was always someone waiting for me.

* * *

_Ginny_

My head started to throb at some point during the feast and half the candles above Gryffindor table began to burn slightly too brightly, dripping hot wax onto the students below before extinguishing completely. Dumbledore paid it no heed, watching from his seat at the head table as they magically replaced themselves. It wasn't him that lit them though.

"You alright, Gin?"

Adam was watching me worriedly. "Yeah. Just a headache, that's all."

He frowned. "You seem to be getting a lot of those. Has Madam Pomfrey figured it out yet?"

I shook my head, not daring to speak much more than I had to, it hurt too much.

"Have you ever considered that it could be a muggle thing not a magical thing? Because headaches can mean a lot of things…"

"No, no… it's not that. Definitely magical."

Before he could object, there was a loud bang that rocketed through my senses as the doors into the great hall banged open, bouncing off the walls. William Black came storming in. He didn't even bother to wait for the Headmaster to stand and take him outside, he just started shouting.

"Where is he!" He demanded. "I know you know; otherwise you would have told me he was alive!"

Dumbledore stood up and walked around the table, intent on getting him out of the hall before any information was expelled into the public. "William, now is not the time."

"Yes it is. You lied to me."

"Yes. And you lied to an awful lot more people before that." He returned. "I have done my best to stay calm about this entire situation. I have told you everything I know. But that is one thing you couldn't know, because you would cause trouble in the process of going after him. I don't know where he is."

"'Cause trouble'?" He laughed. "Never mind trouble! I'm going to go and kill the traitorous bastard! It's what he deserves."

"What, and reveal yourself to Voldemort?" He said softly. "Leave, now, I'll talk to you in a moment-"

"No." He said simply, standing firm and crossing his arms.

_"Don't_ try me, William." He warned.

William ignored him, scanning the head table. "Snape." He said suddenly. "Go on, I know you want to get the little rat out of there as much as I do, where is he?"

Snape glowered down at him. "Don't talk to me like that, Black. I won't stand for it."

William gave him a cocky grin. "And we know where that'll end, don't we? Where. Is. He." He spelled it out slowly, as if he was stupid.

Snape threw his knife and fork down, standing up and storming around the table. "In hiding, like the rest of them. What do you think?"

"Come on… if anyone knows the whereabouts of Death Eaters it's you, Snape."

Dumbledore's face seemed to slowly colour. He was getting angrier by the second, and I knew that within the next few moments the whole student body would get to witness Albus Dumbledore at his worst.

"How dare you!"

"Oh don't act all high and mighty; you've been one of them since you were in school."

Snapes bottom lip began to curl, wand drawn.

"May I remind you, _boys,_ that you are in a hall full of impressionable teenagers." Said Minerva McGonagall, walking over from the head table.

"I'm not leaving until I know where he is. I don't care who finds out what. He killed James and Lily. He put Sirius in prison." He growled.

Snape frowned, then squinted slightly. He took a few further steps forward, regarding the man closely.

"YOU!" He shouted suddenly. "It's been YOU all this time?" he demanded. He looked towards Dumbledore. "_Him_? Seriously?"

There was a slight incline of his head and without warning, Snape turned and punched William with what seemed like as much power as he could muster. His back hit the wall and he staggered, his nose bloody. "You bastard!" He shouted.

William sneered. "What's wrong, Snape? Can't handle the truth?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The low muttering that had been going across the hall halted and the entire room fell into an eerie silence as Albus Dumbledore raised one hand towards the door. "Get out. Now. Both of you, before you cause any more damage. I don't want you within my sights until I call on either of you."

Before William could move, Snape turned to him in what was a moment of resignation. Angry at the man for what he had done in the past, but in complete agreement over one thing. "My parents' house. If you don't manage it, I will tell the others about who you really are. Let them deal with you."

A small flash of fear spread across Williams face before he nodded once. "Thank you."

The wall was entirely silent as the two men left, McGonagall regained her seat and Dumbledore stood there for a few moments, just barely controlling himself. Whatever they had been close to revealing to the hall as a whole was so severely important to be kept from the world that he'd lost control. Nobody had ever seen him angry before. Not really. He took a deep breath, turning around to leave. He caught my eye briefly before he left and shook his head once.

'_Don't tell anyone'_.

_

* * *

A/N: Heh, yeah… next chapter will be a mini-interlude with William that I can promise you you will both love and hate to read. _

_I'm waiting for someone to realise who he is, no one's got it yet xD I'll post the interlude either tonight or tomorrow night, depending. It's already written, I just need to look over it and right now I don't have time. _


	22. INTERLUDE: Insanity and Me

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Harry Potter…

_A/N: I just booked a bunch of tickets to go see the new Harry Potter film next Friday with some mates =D =D I can't wait!_

Quote: 'Does it _run_ in your blood, to betray the ones you love? Does it _run_ in your blood, to betray the ones you love? The ones you love! The ones you love! The ones you love! Does it _run_ in your blood, to betray the ones you love?  
Yes it runs in your blood, to betray the ones you love!  
Yes it runs in your blood, to betray the ones you love!  
Yes it runs in your blood, to betray the ones you love!

I will forgive but I won't forget.  
And I hope you know you've lost my respect…'

Blood (Empty Promises) by Papa Roach.

**

* * *

Blood and Chocolate**

_INTERLUDE: Insanity and Me_

William Black

_

* * *

The darkened halls in the maze that was Azkaban were filled with feelings of despair and helplessness. The quiet mumbling of the long since insane inmates was quiet but terrible. It was like a constant hum, depicting how little life there was in this place. It took the longest time to find Sirius Black's cell. By the time he had, it was getting dark outside and the moon was shining down through the open gaps in the thick stone building. It was almost medieval the way the building was set out. They didn't need to make much of an effort with security, because with the Dementors there…. The prisoners never had any hope of leaving, never mind breaking out. It was a good feeling and a good thought, therefore sucked from their consciousness before they even had chance to fully formulate it. _

_William had almost lost the will to live by this point just by being in the building for such a long period of time, seeing the way Sirius looked up at him when he arrived made him feel worse. _

_He looked at him with confusion for a while, not knowing who he was. He'd been there for 2 months, but it wasn't at all hard to believe that he had already started to lose it a bit. The expression on his face changed. "James."_

_He felt ill all of a sudden, cruel to be the person making him think that he was seeing his friend again, and sad that a man like him that had once been so full of life was forced to live like this. He was only didn't have the heart to correct him. _

_Sitting down by the front of the bars, he waited. _

_Sirius came over to him eventually. He looked so forlorn, as if he had no hope left in the world, which, admittedly, he didn't. "You're innocent, Sirius, you didn't do anything wrong."_

"_I know." He said with an odd amount of clarity. "I didn't do a thing. Peter did."_

_A dementor glided by and I shuddered. He flinched slightly and sat back, the moment of sanity gone with the creature holding him captive. He dropped his forehead onto one of the bars, letting out a soft sob. "James I'm so sorry. It was all my fault. It was my idea, I should have known… I'm so sorry."_

"_No… it was mine."_

Storming down Private Drive, William stopped momentarily as he passed number four. Lily's sister… he'd never thought about the Dursley's before. Not really. He and Adora had spent a lot of time with Remus under different glamour to the one they were already under, making him feel like he wasn't alone, looking after him. He'd visited Sirius in prison, even though he knew Sirius wouldn't remember. That place messed with his mind. Half of the time he'd visited him he didn't even know who he was. He'd delude himself into thinking he was talking to James Potter and apologise over and over about how it was all his fault and he hadn't meant it to happen. It was heart breaking to watch.

But he still visited, and he still sat and spoke to him, trying to bring back some of his sanity in spite of the fact that there was nothing he could do. They still spoke to Remus Lupin and helped him get through losing all of his friends in one night. They even went to see Harry, whenever they could, though there was nothing they could do. They'd actually baby sat a good few times, posing as neighbours. The Dursley's never factored into it. They hated magic. They hated Lily for being magic, and James for taking her away. They treated Harry horribly, they hadn't deserved their sympathy.

Spinners End wasn't far from Lily's old house.

He knew where Snape lived from tales of Lily's childhood. While she'd never been anywhere near his house, she'd stood back in the fields and watched to see if he got home okay some nights. Finding his house easily, he knocked down the door with a flick of his wrist and stepped over the threshold.

Standing in wait, he listened to the silence in the room, waiting for some sign that Snape hadn't been lying, that he was here. As he thought, there was a shuffle behind what appeared to be a bookcase. He smiled to himself. "Peter!" He called. "The Dark Lord seeks your presence shortly, do come out…"

There was a hesitant pause before Peter unwillingly showed his face. He looked confused. "Who are you? You're not-"

"A death eater? Not hardly." He said coldly, flicking his wand so that the bookcase he'd came out from behind locked itself. He let his glamour drop and his true form to be shown to the other wizard.

He let out a cry of shock. "W-whoever you are, that's not funny! Stop it!"

He shook his head slowly. "This isn't a joke, Peter."

He fell to his knees. "P-please, I had no choice. D-Don't kill me…"

"Sorry, Peter, but you created a bit of a mess all those years ago. I've done my best at cleaning it up but… it's not as easy as you might think, piecing people's lives back together."

"Why haven't you shown yourself before now? Y-you didn't have to hide."

"Unfortunately for you, Pete, life just ain't that simple."

He raised his wand as the other wizard cowered at his feet, only to almost drop it in surprise as the back door slammed open then closed.

"Pe-ter!" Someone cooed mockingly. A woman. "Come on, love… I promise I won't hurt you. I just want to pl-"

Bellatrix Lestrange stopped dead on the way into the living room, eyes landing on the man in the door way. She was shocked into silence, wand falling slack by her side, totally forgetting the part of her visit that involved practicing spells on the lab rat that was Peter Pettigrew.

Peter backed up into a wall, frightened, but glad someone was there to save him.

"…Call the Dark Lord." She said softly, her wide-eyes never leaving William.

Peters arm moved so fast he almost didn't have time to react, apparating out of there before the Dark Lord arrived.

He appeared back at the end of Private Drive. Looking down at the long stretch of houses he swore loudly.

"Fucking hell!" Not only had he not managed to kill the stupid git, he'd brought Voldemort to Surrey.

Without thinking about it, he ran down the street until he found number 4, opening the unlocked door and walking straight in. All three Dursleys stood from the Living room and walked into the hall, Vernon in front. His glamour was still gone, and they recognised him immediately. Dudley stood looking confused in the background, never having met him before. Vernon stood to one side and let Petunia see who had just entered their household unannounced.

She almost fainted, leaning heavily against the wall.

"I'm sorry." He breathed, shaking his head. "I made a mistake."

Petunia nodded breathlessly, unable to say anything as she stumbled forward to hug him. She'd never done it before in his memory, but at least she wasn't shouting at him.

The door slammed shut behind him as Adora arrived.

"WHAT IN THE HELL, DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" She screamed, her glamour also falling as her temper rose and her magic revolted against her.

_

* * *

A/N: If you don't know who he is now, I give up xD It was kinda my present to you, because I'm shite at updating, and originally his identity wasn't supposed to be revealed until the last chapter but… I moved it forward for kicks =P There are so many more 'secrets' that will stay hidden right to the end (the next big one isn't revealed until … chapter 32 '_Valentine_' alternate title '_My Bloody Valentine_'… it's quite a sad chapter. There'll be a fair few warnings at the top. But his identity: It's kinda complicated and twisted and hard to believe so… I dunno, maybe someone will get it, eventually. It's not what you'd expect anyway – or you might suspect it now, after this, not sure =]_

_Oh, on the chapters front – I recalculated after I added these last few chapters into it_**: Blood and Chocolate now has 36 chapters, including the Epilogue. **

**Next Chapter**: Oh, god, I actually don't know =S I'm not kidding, either; the last couple of chapters were unscheduled and now I need to fit the next part into this… I have a list of what every chapter is supposed to have in it and no way to connect the last chapter to the new stuff xD oh well. I'm pretty sure it'll involve Halloween and Harry in Hogwarts at some point ;) perhaps an angry Dumbledore and some confused Dursleys? Yeah… that'll do.

_My deadline to finish this is still Christmas Day… ahhh, wish me luck – I really don't think it's gonna happen =/_


	23. INTERLUDE: Hate Me

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

Vaguely-**IMPORTANT A/N**: Right, yes, I am aware that this is another one of those INTERLUDE…s that you all hate – but apparently it's required. Interludes are the only way I can convey information that Harry or Ginny is not around to hear without completely changing the perspective of the story half-way through… Some of you still don't get who William and Adora are, and those of you who do aren't too sure how it could work with the other mechanics of the story, and I don't want to leave people confused for the rest of the story because unfortunately, the entirety of Blood and Chocolate is going to go by with only Ginny ever finding out who they are – right at the end. Harry doesn't find out until the sequel, and even then, neither of them find out why they are alive until at least chapter 10 of the sequel 'Butterflies and Hurricanes'.

And so you have another INTERLUDE right beside the other one to clear a few things up before I move on. Oh, and there are only two more of these things after this, I promise – one of them is over Christmas for reasons you'll understand in a couple of chapters, and the final is actually classed as the Epilogue, because it's from a teachers perspective – I'm not saying who ;]

* * *

Quote: _'Hate me today! Hate me tomorrow! Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you._

_Hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow - hate me so you can finally see what's good for you_.'

**Hate Me – Blue October**

**

* * *

Blood and Chocolate**

_INTERLUDE: Hate Me_

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

Albus Dumbledore's hand came down heavily on William's shoulder, not daring too look at him, more over his shoulder at the people sat in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. Remus Lupin was stood confused beside Sirius Black near the sink, Mary McDonald was stood behind Harry, who was sat at the table opposite Severus Snape.

Harry Potter.

With a heavy heart, he sighed in defeat, looking down at where William was restraining a silently crying Adora but she had her eyes on Snape – a hateful glare on her face.

"You do not wish him to know?"

She sobbed loudly, breaking down and breaking free of her husband's grip, running down the hall. "My office, please…" He said softly, all anger gone by this point, too old and too tired to bother getting angry over something that, in all honestly, should have been prevented.

He looked to William, who shook his head. "Then you will have to explain yourselves." He stood back and waited for him to leave after Adora before motioning for Snape to go after them.

He leant heavily on the doorframe. "I… apologise for any disturbances, Sirius."

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not bothered. Just… confused."

"I know. We all are."

* * *

In his office all but five minutes later, all three of his old students sat before him in his office, looking rather sorry for themselves.

"I thought I could trust you not to divulge any information to the public." He said to William finally. "I am aware that they are just children and they do not understand, but this is a school, and I will not stand for that kind of behaviour here. Not to mention the fact that, if you are not willing to tell Harry, then you need to be more careful with what you say."

They all sat in silence for a while longer before he nodded his head to the couple sat nervously in their seats. "Drop your glamour."

Doing as they were told, Lily Potter took one look at the expression on her old school friend's face and stood, walking over to the window behind the headmaster's seat, leaning heavily on the sill. Her shoulders shook. "I'm so sorry…" She whispered, though to the headmaster or to Severus Snape it was uncertain.

James stood and walked around behind her, pulling her away from the window and into a hug, his face completely expressionless. Snape just sat there, in silence. Even after he had realised before, it had never really settled, not really, until he'd actually seen them walking around as themselves, her voice, exactly the same as it always had been, and her body frozen as it was 15 years ago. He couldn't find the words to speak.

Dumbledore could. "I do believe, I haven't quite heard the full story myself." He said softly, lowering his head to look at them over his half-moon spectacles.

James set his jaw. "I told you-"

"You told me nothing." He said sharply. "You came to Hogwarts the day after Harry collapsed in the Ministry and told me you were James and Lily Potter, alive and well, like you always had been, for all this time. You told me you had to leave to save Harry, and there was nothing you could do to change that until now. You said you weren't ready to show yourselves to Harry, and first wanted to insert yourselves into his life – get to know him, to understand. You didn't tell me how, or why you are, or can be. You just… were. You stood there, impossibly alive, and asked me to believe that you were safe to be around the Order, despite having abandoned everybody, including your son, all those years ago."

He let his wife go, walking around to face the headmaster properly. "We had no choice!"

"Then you'll have no problem explaining what happened." Said Snape quietly, voice sounding particularly raw.

"Sit down."

He did as he was told, surveying the headmaster without a sound for a good minute before he started his explanation. "When Harry was born, and I realised what I'd done, what he was – I set about to find a way around it, to protect him. Back then Vampires were as badly accepted into the public as Werewolves were." He started.

Dumbledore nodded agreeably, waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't want him to go through the hell Remus did, with school and friends because it was my fault and I should have prevented it. Not that I ever could, I love Lily so much." He looked to where she was standing, rigid looking out of the window as he explained. "We set out, using Lily's power down in the Department of Mysteries to find out as much as we could about it, if there could be a cure, anything we could do. But there wasn't, and then you came to us about the prophecy, we were in hiding and Voldemorts arrival at our home was imminent. We were scared. We wanted to keep him safe. If we died and left him to deal with this on his own… he'd-" He stopped talking all of a sudden and Lily began to pick up after him, speaking in a hushed tone, still facing the window, but she was speaking.

"We didn't know what to do. One day, early October 1981, I was walking past a room in the Department of Mysteries. There was a bright light coming from inside – it had always been blocked off, no one had ever been in there, not for decades. But something called my name. Next thing I knew there was flash of colour and everything went black, this… thing, in the middle of the room, glowing. It looked like a young girl, but it wasn't, she looked so old, and inhuman."

"The epicentre of the Ministry for Magic." Said Dumbledore, seeming to understand without her having to explain. He turned to Snape. "When the Ministry was first built, it was chaos, nothing fell into the correct place, with the sheer amount of magical folk inhibiting the building, the building itself would soak it up, become more and more a thing of its own, like Hogwarts. Unlike Hogwarts, it did not have people like the founders to keep everything in place, stop it from becoming dangerous and keeping it that way. There was a rumour, that the only reason why it is still in use today, rather than splitting up the different departments and scattering them across the country, is because an unspeakable one day brought her daughter, a seer, to work, for examinations and the like, so they could learn from her. Only she wouldn't talk to them. She locked herself in a room down there and refused to come out. She was a powerful young witch. Descended from Slytherin, I think. But she was a seer, she knew her place, she knew what she was destined to do – she brought the cracking seams of the magic battered building back together, brought order, but in the process, integrated herself into the system. The Department of Mysteries is the way it is today, with files and artefacts finding their way into certain rooms, books opening on the correct pages to help the workers along – because she's down there, overseeing everything."

He turned to Lily. "But I heard there was a collapse in the lower building earlier this year – if she was down there, she isn't now."

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut re-opening them with what appeared to be great effort. "She died – that's what made it collapse in the first place."

He motioned for her to sit back down and this time she did as she was told. "What did she do for you?"

She looked briefly to James before opening her mouth to explain properly. "She offered me a choice. Harry was born the way he was, but he wouldn't really come into what he is until his 4th birthday, when his magic started to play up. But she knew we didn't have that amount of time, she knew that we were going to have to leave him soon. She also knew that it would stay latent in his system until his magic activated it – when he was ready. So, like I said, she gave me a choice. She told me that if I left it the way it was, James and myself would die, and Harry would be left alone. But if I let her help, she would keep both of us alive, and he would be given a chance at a normal life – but with a sacrifice."

"You had to leave him?"

She shook her head, her jaw shaking slightly as she fought back tears. "She could take this…'gift' back, from Harry. But it couldn't just leave him and vanish into nothing, it had to go somewhere. And because it was in his blood…" She looked to James and he understood without the words she couldn't say.

"James."

He nodded. "It happened quite suddenly. Harry started crying and I was in a lot of pain. A week later… I was the way I am now, and Harry was fine – a healthy, albeit odd, 1 year old boy."

"That doesn't explain why you left."

James grimaced. "There was a catch. Were I to make contact with my son – everything would revert. Both of us would die."

Snape shook his head, standing to his feet and storming towards the door. "That's bollocks and you know it. You were with your family right until the end. Stop trying to cover your arses and just admit that you left because you were ashamed of what you are, and what you did, and let us be done with it." He tried to open the door but it was locked.

The headmaster ignored him. "He's right; you stayed at Godrics Hallow right up until the day you died."

"Yes. I did. But I couldn't go anywhere near him. I was terrified that if I so much as held him everything would go wrong. Then, the more time I spent around him, the weaker we both got, until it was getting closer to Halloween and – I got angry. I knew I had to leave, that I had to go, but Lily wouldn't let me. She wouldn't leave without me, and as much as we love our son, he was safer without me around. And if Lily wasn't going to let me go alone…"

She picked up where he left off. "We packed up, ready to leave, and I was going to leave Harry with Sirius and Mary. They would raise him, and I would see him every day. I could never leave him, not truly. But James being around him was killing them both, and not being able to hold his own son was driving James around the bend. I love James so much; there was no way I was letting him go."

"What happened on Halloween night?" Asked Dumbledore finally, after a few moments of silence.

"I… bit her." Said James simply. "She said that if she was leaving her son for me, then she didn't want to grow old while I was going to stay 21 for the rest of my life. To be honest, I would have done it earlier if it weren't for all the worry and stress we'd gone through with me not being able to be around Harry. We didn't know how long it would take for her to change properly, but she was weak, so we stayed at Godrics Hallow for Halloween night, waiting. But we'd been betrayed, and sometime after midnight, I was sat with her in the living room while she slept when _he_ came knocking. We didn't have much time, I woke her up and sent her upstairs after Harry, to take him and run. Then of course he broke through the door and I got smashed back into a wall. While I was unconscious, he found Lily and Harry in the nursery. He killed her and tried to kill Harry, but it didn't work."

"I sacrificed my life for my son, and it protected him from harm. But something went wrong." She said softly. "Apparently dying was all it took to kick-start my changing into a vampire, like James. I woke up two days later, like him; by that point we were in America and went into hiding. We couldn't face going back. We assumed that Sirius would have Harry, he was safe, and they thought we were dead. It would workout in Harrys favour because he was alive, and he didn't have to go through the hell of having a father that could kill him at any moment, and a mother that was only ever half there because of her love for her husband."

"We came back in 1991. I couldn't stand it any longer – I had to see him, see what he had become. Only… everything was wrong. Sirius was in prison, Remus was alone, and Harry was with my sister. The first thing I did was go to Harry, I wanted to take him away, tell him I'd made a mistake, that I couldn't leave him, not any more. But I was stopped. She came to me, the girl from the ministry, and told me that going back to him now would only lead to his death, that he needed to be with his aunt and uncle. He was unloved there, but safe. I didn't like it, I didn't want to believe her, and I went to see him anyway. He was in the back garden, doing some work on the plants for Petunia. Before I could go up to him, she showed me what the future would be like if I followed through with it. There were so many different images. Hogwarts in ruins, Harry lying dead in the Great Hall, Voldemort was alive, only different, snake like, he was laughing over his dead body. Remus was dead, and Sirius, everyone that we ever cared about in the past was gone, wiped out in one sweep. She said that I could go to him now, by all means, but if I waited, a time would come where James could be there too – that she was dying, and she wouldn't take him with her."

"So you left him." Stated Dumbledore, trying his best to take in all of the new information, Snape still standing by the door looking annoyed.

"Yes. We focused on Sirius and Remus instead. Under glamour, we found Remus and befriended him all over again, gave him hope, made him believe that he wasn't alone any more. We convinced him to go back to see his old friends, to you, and you gave him a job at the school. We moved in as Harry's neighbours and looked after him with every opportunity we got, watching over him and making sure he didn't fall into harm. Then we went to Sirius, and showed him how he could escape for himself. As far as we knew, he was in prison for betraying us, and for killing Pettigrew and those muggles. We thought that even if we came forward as being alive, he would still be in prison for murder. When he escaped, we stood back for a while and let things take its course."

"I went to go see Sirius after he first went in." James looked out at the Quidditch pitch through the window. "If I'd known that I could have helped him, I would have stayed! I would have got him out and made Lily stay with Harry, but I didn't, and he was left there to rot while we were off in America. When I went to check on Harry, he was with Remus." He said, looking at Dumbledore with anger. "He was in Remus' house, with you, and he was safe, why would you even think to move him to the Dursleys, what was wrong with Remus? _They hate magic_, he _loved_ Harry."

He shook his head. "I took him to see Remus' one day a few months after I dropped him off with his aunt and uncle. I wanted to know that they were looking after him properly, and they were, at the time. They weren't at all happy about the arrangement, and they didn't treat him as their own, but they fed him, looked after him, and gave him a safe place to live. Remus was going away, and he wouldn't ever get to see Harry again, or so he thought at the time, so he asked to see him one last time. I wasn't about to say no. I'm afraid you came back at an odd day that year. Had you come earlier, you would have known. Had you came to me for help, I could have fixed this mess before you made it any worse."

"But _could _you." James shook his head. "Could you _really_? Sirius was a murder, Remus was so alone he left the country, Mary was off in New Zealand, and no one knew she was there. Dorcas and Coradoc died a month before we supposedly did. I couldn't go near my son without the possibility of killing him, and Lily was torn between caring for her son, and being with me. That's all of us, scattered, broken beyond repair, and unable to come back together again. How could you have helped?"

Dumbledore went silent, unable to answer, James looking particularly satisfied with himself. He turned to Lily instead. "10 years?"

She dropped her head into hands, looking particularly torn and stressed. "You have to be one of s to understand fully but… time moves faster for us. We would find ourselves standing watching the world slip between our fingertips from time to time because, in all honestly, it didn't feel anything like 10 years. 10 months. A year, maybe, but not _that_ long. When time finally caught up with us, I had to go back, but it was too late, in a worse mess than what we'd left it in."

"And how is it that you can be around him now? You've been training him for weeks."

"When she died everything started to revert. Harry started to change, and I started to become human again. The day he died, I did. Only I woke up human, and he woke up a vampire. Lily bit me again afterwards – it's _complicated_, and _twisted_ and so _wrong_, in so many ways. Everything is just… wrong."

Dumbledore sat back in his seat, looking older than he ever had done before this point, the weight and severity of the situation falling upon his shoulders. "What are you planning on doing next? You can't keep them in the dark."

"No." Said Lily quietly. "We'll have to tell him soon. I'm just… he's going to hate me. James had no choice… I just… left him all alone."

Nobody said anything for a while as she stood on shaking legs and walked towards the door, past Snape. "I don't know if I can even face him after this."

_

* * *

A/N: I am aware that that is A LOT to take in. I'm also aware that some people are going to hate me for this plot twist. But I've had this planned, it does work, it does make sense, and their emotions and feelings behind what they did will unravel and grow as this story progresses, but I reiterate – they will __**not**__ show themselves until the end of this story. That's the way it's going to be, unfortunately. _

_Next chapter will be posted either tomorrow or Tuesday – please do NOT kill me for this addition to the story =S _


End file.
